Lean On Me
by HopeInMyHeart
Summary: April Kepner develops a close bond with her favorite little girl, Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres as the years continue to go by :  Says April and Arizona, but it's really April and the Robbins Sloan Torres family :
1. Chapter 1

"Please, Please I'm begging you, just, please try and sleep!" Callie Torres paces Sofia's nursery for the umpteenth time that night. Sofia is a trainwreck, and one of her moms is this side of losing her mind.

Callie glances at the clock on the Ipod dock. 3:15 a.m.

"Sofia, mommy loves you, she loves you so much, but it's really, really hard to do a hip replacement surgery on no sleep sweetie. Please, I'm begging you."

But Sofia continues to scream at the top of her now well developed lungs.

Suddenly, the ghost of Arizona Robbins appears in the nursery doorway. "My turn." she grunts.

Callie looks up, and half smiles at her wife, bleary eyed, her blonde hair fixed in a messy ponytail.

"You did it last night" Callie reminds her.

Arizona shakes her head, "Don't care. Can't take both of you crying." she mumbles walking into the room.

Callie wipes the frustrated, hormonal, exhausted tears from her eyes. "I'll stay with you guys."

Arizona throws her a glance that reads "Go to bed or my offer to take our screaming newborn is off the table" and Callie kisses her forehead gratefully.

* * *

><p>"Wow, Dr. Robbins are you alright?" April Kepner greets her attending with a concerned look.<p>

"Newborn." Arizona yawns. "Sofia's not sleeping. And by not sleeping I mean, it's been days since any of us got any sleep. Mark's out of town til Sunday, he went to see his father in New York."

April hands her her charts "Can I at least get you a cup of coffee?"

Arizona smiles gratefully, "Thanks April. Though I feel like an IV drip might be in order to get me through the day."

* * *

><p>"Dr. Torres, How are you holding up?" Chief Webber bustles into the attending's lounge<p>

"Shhh!" Callie hisses.

Richard is taken aback, but then nods understandingly as Callie motions to Sofia sleeping snuggly against her in the baby sling.

"Rough night?"

Callie nods exhaustedly "and to make matters worse, the 16 year old Mark hired to babysit her never showed this morning. I'm just waiting for Arizona to finish in the O.R. So she can take her to daycare upstairs when it opens, because I... have a hip replacement scheduled at 10."

Richard leans in for a closer look "She's beautiful Callie. Really really beautiful. Even if she's giving you hell, trust me, you'll be grateful for it one day."

"Thanks Chief."

A moment later, Arizona hurries into the lounge, "I'm sorry, I'm here. I hope you're not late." she says apologetically.

Callie smiles exhaustedly, "Nope. You're good. Look angel, guess who's here to snuggle you for a while!"

Arizona lovingly takes the baby "Daycare at 10, right?"

"Right. And then by the time my replacement is headed to PACU, I'll be able to take her home."

they share a brief kiss, and Callie breathes Sofia in one final time. "Love you baby." she whispers

"Get a coffee on your way up!" Arizona calls after her, before hoisting her baby girl over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>What the hell is she doing?" Alex Karev peers into the lounge watching Arizona pace back and forth.<p>

"It looks like some kind of tribal...dance." Cristina Yang snorts.

"_It's almost 10 a.m."_ Arizona reminds herself. Almost there, and then she can focus on the other tiny humans with whatever energy she has left to give them after 2 nights of no sleep.

"Leave her alone." April comes up behind them. "Sofia's not sleeping. Desperate parents do desperate things."

"_This_ is the only thing that keeps her quiet." Arizona explains turning around and motioning to the sleeping baby strapped to her chest.

She looks expectantly at Alex, Cristina and April. "Is there something I can do for you?" She asks with a cranky snap in her voice.

Immediately, Alex and Cristina shake their heads, and take off, but April makes no motion to go.

"Kepner?" Arizona asks.

"Can I...hold her?" April asks tentatively, and smiles as she sees the relief wash over Arizona's face.

"Of course you can." Arizona is more than happy for the break, and smiles as April lovingly, carefully plucks her from the sling.

"I haven't seen much of you since the NICU little one." she coos. "You've gotten so big since then."

April looks up at Arizona "She's really amazing Dr. Robbins."

"Thank you, April."

"You know, I'd never tell anyone else this Sofia. But, here's a little secret. She murmurs to the baby. You were always my favorite patient."

Arizona smiles watching the sweet resident loving her little girl, and forgets about her exhaustion momentarily.

* * *

><p>"You should eat" Arizona prods Callie at lunch that afternoon. They had just come from visiting the baby at daycare, and were equal parts amazed and jealous to find that their baby had been snoozing most of the day.<p>

"Coffee." Callie mumbles, "That's all I want. No food. Just coffee."

"Come on. You need to keep your energy up."

"You know what would help me get my energy up?" Callie whines with her head in her hands, "Sleep. Just... sleep. She's been sleeping all day, which means party in the nursery, both moms invited, at 4 a.m."

Arizona chuckles, and squeezes Callie's hand. "One day it's payback time. I promise." she winks.

"Dr. Robbins? Dr Torres?" April approaches the lunch table quietly.

"I was supposed to go on a date tonight." she starts.

Callie and Arizona share a very confused glance.

"And this is important because?" Callie asks.

"I think I can help you... with Sofia." April says, looking from Arizona to Callie and back again.

"Oh?" Callie asks skeptically. "Try me."

April raises her eyebrow "Well. Since my "date" just cancelled on me, I have no plans tonight. So, I am offering, this one time, to babysit... for you. Tonight."

Callie's eyes go wide, "You can't joke with us like that Kepner."

"I'm not... I'm serious." April says nodding.

"Like, tonight tonight?" Arizona stares at her, "Callie I think she's serious."

"Kepner, thank you. Thank you so much." Callie throws her arms around April, taking her off guard.

"Callie... Callie, we have a whole night off" Arizona squeals excitedly, suddenly feeling re energized.

"I know. I know. Callie kisses her quickly, "I don't even know what to do with myself, with us. It's been months."

"Oh don't worry about that." Arizona smiles, returning her kiss, "I'll take care of everything."


	2. Chapter 2

April, really thank you so much for offering to sit for her." Callie holds the apartment door open for her.

April smiles. "You two need a night off, I'm happy to help. Where's Sofia?"

"in here April!" Arizona calls out from the nursery.

April clasps her hands under her chin as she enters Sofia's nursery. "Look at her room! I love it!"

Arizona glances over her shoulder as she works to diaper the baby.

"Thanks!"

Arizona finishes changing Sofia and swaddles her tightly before greeting April with her own grateful smile. "Okay! Here she is! She ate about an hour ago, she's changed, bottles are in the kitchen, pacifiers are in this drawer, clothes and blankets are here... What am I missing?"

"Emergency numbers, I forgot those" Callie suddenly speaks up.

"right, well leave those..." Arizona nods.

Suddenly, Sofia begins to whimper.

"Is she okay?" Callie crosses the room and reaches for her. "Come here pumpkin." She strokes Sofia's cheek and looks at April and Arizona.

"I think she has a fever." Callie suddenly says.

"_Callie_." Arizona raises an eyebrow.

"No, I think she's got a fever." Callie insists. "We should stay home."

April is trying to hold back her own smile. "I think she's okay. Plus, I happen to know this really great doctor who, coincidentally happens to be on a Ped's rotation right now. I think we're good." She says softly, emitting a chuckle from Arizona.

Callie is unconvinced. She shakes her head."No. No no. If she's sick I dont want to leave her."

"Let me see her." Arizona lifts Sofia out of Callie's arms. "Come here, sweet girl. Let's see." she murmurs to Sofia, plucking the thermometer from the changing table.

"How high is it?" Callie paces the nursery. "It's high isn't it? She's still so little. I should have never taken her out the other day."

"Callie, calm down" Arizona kisses the baby. "Good girl, okay. All done with the thermometer." She turns to April."can you take Sofia?"

She then faces Callie as Sofia rests comfortably in April's arms. "Come here Callie." She holds out the thermometer for her wife to see for herself.

"Look, it's totally normal. No fever. _See_?"

Callie smiles tightly, realizing she's overreacting.

"Are you ready to go?" Arizona wraps her arms around her wife's waist. "I mean...before April can change her mind and we miss our opportunity for date night?"

Callie hesitates but then nods. "Okay, let's get out of here before I change my mind. April, call us if you need anything. I mean it. Anything at all."

"Honey, she's in good hands," Arizona gently tears her wife away from their daughter one final time.

"Were gone, I swear!" Callie promises, before finally letting the door close behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, do I get to know where were going?" Callie laces her fingers through Arizona's as she comes to a slow stop.

"Nope!"

"What if I hate it?"

"you won't" arizona rolls her eyes.

"how can you be so sure?" Callie teases.

"because I know you." Arizona smiles. "You'll love this."

"I wonder if she's okay." Callie wonders aloud.

"Sofia is _fine,_ April is great with her, she did help keep her alive in the NICU you know" Arizona reminds her wife.

"I know. I know" Callie says sheepishly.

"Look, we're here." Arizona pulls up and Callie's eyes light up, "the Archibald?"

Arizona grins. "I know we only have a few hours but I thought...a little room service, a soak in the tub, some champagne"Arizona grins...maybe a little...you know...she raises an eyebrow in Callie's direction.

Callie turns to her wife with shining eyes."I _love_ you." she says softly, pulling her in for a long kiss before getting out of the car.

* * *

><p>Okay you! You've been changed, fed, rocked, I'd say it's about time to drift off to sleep!" April smiles down at Sofia, who appears to be wide awake.<p>

"is that a smile I see?" April claps her hands. "that is _so _not gas." she winks as Sofia continues to stare up at her.

"do you know who I am Sofia?" she allows the baby to catch her pinkie and curl her tiny fingers around it. "I'm Auntie April." She giggles to herself at the self appointed title and figures Callie and Arizona will hardly mind. It is, after all to some of her credit that their baby girl is alive and healthy, even if she is refusing sleep at the moment.

April continues her story. "We spent a lot of time together when you were born, little one. I was the first person you got to see when you opened your eyes!"

She quietly remembers the day Sofia opened her eyes for the first time. She was standing over her incubator, and was very honored to be the first person she got to see. Of course, like everyone, she too had hoped her moms and dad would be there to witness the milestone. But no one anticipated her being able to open her eyes at only a week old and 17 weeks premature. Everyone close to Callie and Arizona had been worried sick after her delivery, and she felt a special closeness with Sofia while she grew in the NICU.

Sofia blinks her dark brown eyes sleepily, and finally lets out a huge yawn.

"Atta girl" April coos, holding her closely.

* * *

><p>"Baby's fine. April's got her sleeping in the swing" Callie reports, returning from the balcony outside their room. "Arizona? Where'd you go?"<p>

"I'm in here!" Arizona calls out from the bathroom.

Callie smiles to herself as she opens the bathroom door, and then clamps her hand over her mouth. The bathroom has been transformed with soft candle light and a bath with rose petals. Arizona sits on the lip of the tub in her robe, her honey blonde hair cascading in long curly tendrils down her back.

"care to join me?" she winks.


	4. Chapter 4

"That...was _incredible_." Callie smiles, brushing a strand of Arizona's sweaty hair off of her brow.

Arizona smiles, sweaty and shaky limbed. She sits up and wraps the sheet around her. "we should have done that first, and then ordered the bath treatment" she chuckles.

Callie shrugs, "I think it was pretty perfect the way that it was." She leans in for another kiss. "We should do this more often." she concludes.

Arizona smiles at her wife. "Definitely." she glances at the clock. "It's almost 11:30 Callie. We should get back. We told April we'd be back around midnight." she sighs.

Callie sits up. "Food first, then we'll go?"

Arizona agrees, and they pour over the room service menu. Good sex has a way of working up the appetite. The two of them dine on burgers and fries, and finally put their clothes on and check out of the room.

Callie's smile radiates through the dark as Arizona drives them home. "I'm lucky I have you." She says reaching for Arizona's free hand.

Arizona pulls to a stop, "I love you too beautiful."

"I'm so glad we did this, but I have to say, I did... kind of miss the baby a little! Not the whole time but... I missed her! I'm excited to get home and snuggle our girl." Callie confesses.

Arizona laughs. "We've been gone four hours Calliope." but secretly, she had felt the same way initially. She chuckled to herself over that.

Callie and Arizona make their way up to their apartment, and quietly open the door.

"We're home!" Arizona calls out softly.

"Arizona, look." Callie laughs sweetly at the scene on the couch. Sofia is curled up comfortably on April's chest. Both of them sleeping peacefully.

"April, honey, wake up!" Arizona whispers sitting down gently next to her

"What- oh Oh!" April startles awake immediately. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep-" she starts.

Callie and Arizona both chuckle "It's okay" Arizona reassures her, as Callie carefully reaches for Sofia.

"Hi sweet girl" she murmurs. Sofia is sleeping so soundly, she hardly moves an inch.

"How was she?" Arizona asks

April smiles and sits up. "She was great. A little fussy a couple of hours ago, so we walked a bit, she had a bottle at about 11, but she was fine, I have to say, It was great to spend some time with her tonight. She's such a sweet little lovebug."

April collects her bag, and leans in to kiss Sofia's head one last time. Before she leaves, she smiles at Callie and Arizona.

"That was kind of fun actually. I haven't babysat in probably 10 years. It wasn't so bad." she admits. "If you guys ever need someone again, I mean, I know I said this was a one time deal, but, you can always ask. I mean, not every week or anything like that... but I wouldn't mind spending time with Sofia to give you guys a break every so often."

Callie and Arizona exchange an excited glance as April quietly closes the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Kepner!"

April is buried in paperwork, her hair is falling out of the messy knot on top of her head, and she has not slept in going on 46 hours. Yet she greets Mark Sloan with a smile.

"Dr. Sloan! What can I do for you?"

He clears his throat, "What are you doing on Saturday night?"

April looks at him oddly. "Uh, sleeping? I know Sofia's first birthday party is that day, but I have the night off. Please don't tell me you or someone else needs me to be here- I-I-I love being chief resident but, I need to not... be here for a night." she says.

Mark laughs. "So does that mean no to hanging out with the cutest almost one year old on the planet too?"

April's eyes light up. "No no I'd love to!"

Mark grins. " I want to surprise Callie and Arizona on saturday night and take them both out for dinner. So, you'll come to the party, hang out for a bit and then swing back around on Saturday night?

April nods "Sure!"

"Thanks Kepner."

* * *

><p>"Callie! Callie get in here! Quick!" Arizona yells from the living room that afternoon. Sofia is staring at her mama, her big brown eyes wide, hanging on to the side of their couch.<p>

"Come on baby girl!" Arizona coaxes, "Come to mama!"

Sofia grins, showing off the handful of teeth that have come in over the past 4 months.

Callie you're going to miss it! Arizona yells out again, never taking her eyes off of Sofia. "You can do it sweetie!"

Callie races into the living room with her phone in her hand, and drops to her knees. "Is she gonna do it!" She claps her hands softly "Come here big girl! Come on!"

Slowly, Sofia loosens her grip on the couch cushions, and takes a wobbly first step towards both of her mothers. Callie and Arizona both hold their breath as she wobbles toward them, taking 5 tiny steps before falling back on to her bottom. Callie's hands shake as she captures the milestone on video.

"Sofia! Big girl you walked!" Arizona scoops her up. Callie smothers her with kisses. "That was amazing Sofia! Look at what you did!" She holds her daughter closely. "I'm so proud of you." she murmurs.

Arizona wipes a few of her own tears away.

"Oh, baby!" Callie smiles at her wife, falling more in love with her in that moment.

"I just... I wanted so badly for this day to get here. She's a miracle Calliope. She's developing normally, she's meeting her milestones like it's nothing. Do you know how rare that is?"

Callie kisses her. "It's all because of you. You got her started with the early interventionists as soon as she was out of the hospital. You knew exactly what she needed Arizona. The fact that she's walking the day before her first birthday? That's a testament to _you_. Sofia is the luckiest little girl on the planet to have you as her mom.

Suddenly, their apartment door opens and Mark walks in. "Where's my girl?" He grins widely. "Sofia! Daddy's here!"

Callie smiles at Sofia. "Sofia, should we show Daddy what you just learned?"

Mark stares at Callie. "No way. I missed it? She did it?"

Callie hands him her phone, and he watches the video of Sofia's first steps, grinning wildly. "Daddy is so proud of you!" He tosses his daughter up in the air, emitting loud squeals of joy from her.

"I'm sorry you missed it." Arizona says.

"I was there for her first word," Mark reminds them.

"I still don't believe her first word was "suture" Callie says with a chuckle.

Mark grins slyly. "That's between my kid and me. So, listen, party on saturday. I booked the petting zoo."

"What? Mark! Callie protests, Those animals, they're filthy! Unbook! Come on!"

"Seriously, Mark. No petting zoo" Arizona chimes in.

Mark shakes his head. Nope. Petting zoo. Our daughter has an unnatural love for farm animals. You know that. Would you deny a kid who loves cars a "car" party?

Arizona and Callie exchange a glance. Mark had a point. Lately, Sofia had developed an affinity for anything and everything farm related. Favorite song? Old Mcdonald. She would belly laugh whenever Arizona, Callie or Mark would launch into it. Her favorite toy? The plastic barn and matching farm animals she had gotten from Grandma Barb and Grandpa Dan for Christmas.

Callie grits her teeth and looks at Arizona. "Fine." she finally says. Mark grins at Sofia. "Yay Mommies!" He says raising her arm in the air.

"alright, alright" Arizona says, "Listen, It's your responsibility, the whole thing. Okay?"

"Say no more." Mark nods. Listen I need to go, because my bug, my sofiabug is turning 1, yes she is! and there's one more present I need to go out and get."

Sofia yawns suddenly and rubs her eyes, signaling the need for her afternoon nap. "Alright big girl. Come here. Come see mama" Arizona holds her arms out for Sofia, who immediately rests her head on Arizona's shoulder. She glances at Callie as she pats Sofia's back.

"Callie, you need to get to the hospital pretty soon." she motions to the clock on the wall. "It's almost 3."

"Crap, okay. You're right." Callie quickly kisses both of her girls. "I'll see you tonight. Bye Sofia! Mommy loves you!"

"bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" Arizona waves for Sofia before closing the apartment door behind them both.

Sofia can tell what's about to happen, as Arizona prepares her room for nap time. She changes her, and draws the shades as Sofia stands in protest in her crib, crying loudly, protesting naptime rather impressively. She had inherited Callie's feisty nature, and it was challenging sometimes. Most of the time, it made Arizona laugh under her breath.

"Night night love bug" Arizona kisses her cheeks and helps her to lie down one final time, smiling to herself at the oh so very ordinary day she has had with her child so far. A year ago, this angry, red faced toddler was in real danger of losing her life before it began. Arizona can look past the lack of sleep, the crying and the endless diaper changes and be grateful that she has that to be complaining over.

The alternative, a life with no Sofia, is too painful to even think about.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are we ready for the big day?" Arizona pokes her head into the bathroom and her face breaks into a grin. Callie is holding Sofia up in front of the bathroom mirror. "Sofia look at your big girl party dress! You look so pretty!" Arizona claps excitedly, and turns to Callie.

"She looks gorgeous. I love the pink dress on her." Arizona pecks her wife on the cheek. "Come on, we should go. Mark's already there taking care of the set up."

Callie and Arizona are shocked and humbled at the number of people already crowding around the rented park pavilion when they arrive. "Sofia! Look at all your party guests sweetie!" Callie exclaims.

Arizona parks the car, and Callie lifts Sofia out of her car seat. Sofia blinks in the sunlight, and cranes her neck to see all of the people.

"Everybody's here!" Callie tells her softly, "look, Auntie Cristina and Uncle Owen are here, and there's Meredith and Derek and look! Zola's here Sofia!" Callie continues to rattle off all of the people who comprise a good portion of their daughter's regular every day life.

"pretty good turn out huh?" Mark smiles as he joins Callie and Arizona across the pavillion.

"Yeah! This is awesome!" Arizona nods, and motions towards the parking lot. "Mark, Addison and Ella are here!"

Daddy!" Ella Montgomery races across the park and into Mark's open arms

"Ella Belle! There's my big girl!" Mark scoops up his older daughter. "How was karate yesterday? Yellow tip?

Ella grins proudly, showing off her missing front teeth. " Yeah! And I broke a board daddy! Mommy won't let me do it at home though."

"She's absolutely right."Addison chimes in joining Mark, Arizona and Callie, "Happy birthday sweetheart!" she kisses the baby on the cheek.

Ella wiggles out of Mark's arms, "Happy _birthday_ sissy!" She stands on her tiptoes, and kisses her little sister.

"Do you want to see what your little sister learned this week Ella?" Callie grins, and sets Sofia down to stand on her own. "Sofia! Show Ella how you can walk now!"

Ella takes her little sister's hand, and all four grown ups burst into laughter as they take off.

"She's amazing you guys." Addison remarks, really. Every time I see her, I'm blown away. Look at her, she's walking around her first birthday party right now. Amazing."

Arizona chuckles. "She started walking on Tuesday and the next day it was literally like she'd been doing it forever. We had to crash baby proof the whole apartment overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

Callie nods "I heard it happens fast for some kids but man! She went from 5 steps and face planting to practically running through the house."

Mark motions over to Ella and Sofia. "I think I'll go supervise. Sofia's making eyes at the petting zoo."

"Callie! Arizona!" April is beaming as she joins the party. "This is amazing. Thank you so much for having me... Where's the guest of honor? I want to give her a hug."

Callie motions to the grass "Walking around her own party with her big sister!"

"No! She started walking this week? You guys must be so excited!" April throws her arms around them both before going to join Ella and Sofia.

The party is now in full swing, and before long, Sofia is sitting with Callie and Arizona, opening birthday gifts, watching her moms and her dad greeting party guests and snacking on delicious party treats.

Finally, when the last gift had been opened, Mark stands up. "Guys guys listen up! As all of you know, it's been one hell of a year for all of us. Most of you were there at the beginning, and you've seen us through so much in the past year of our lives. He turns to Callie and Arizona, and so,I have one more gift" he announces, Callie, Arizona, this one's for you two." He grins as he hands them an envelope.

"Dinner.. for tonight... at Alexanders!" Arizona exclaims. "We've been trying to get a reservation there for months!"

"I want to take you guys out to celebrate our daughter. To honor you both." Mark says with a hint of emotion in his voice.

Callie throws her arms around him. "But wait, we don't have a babysitter!"

"All taken care of." He grins at April. "Kepner's on it."

* * *

><p>April can hear Mark, Callie and Arizona laughing and cheering later on in the early evening as she approaches Callie and Arizona's apartment. She knocks on the door.<p>

"Come on in it's open!" Callie bellows.

April bursts out laughing at the scene in the kitchen. Sofia is elbow deep in a mountain of chocolate cake and icing in her high chair. "Sofia! Not enough cake at your birthday party?"

Arizona wipes her face free of cake. "She didn't have her smash cake at the park. It would have been too hard to clean her up and get her home. So, when she got up from her nap, we thought we'd take care of that. Right Sofia?" she opens her mouth, and Sofia readily shares a fistful of birthday cake with her mama.

"Ah ha!" April sets her bag down and joins Callie, Mark and Arizona as they crowd around Sofia's high chair, watching her destroy the chocolate cake in front of her, sharing with her grown ups, and gleefully making a giant mess of herself and her high chair.

"Alright alright I think we've had enough cake miss Sofia" Callie finally curtails the fun, and carefully lifts Sofia out of her high chair.

"I don't know how much actually made it into her mouth" She laughs

"I'll get her bath started." Arizona laughs, heading for the bathroom.

"So Kepner, how's chief resident?" Mark grins at her. "I hear you've been doing a great job with it. You liked the position?"

April nods "It's hard to believe the year is almost over. It's gone so fast."

Mark nods, "Time flies when you're having fun. Listen I better run across the hall, but, thanks again for doing this for us. You know how much Sofia loves you."

"She does?"

"Oh yeah! She lights up around you. She totally loves you."

April smiles, "Well, the feeling is mutual."

Mark winks, and heads back to his apartment across the hall. It is only a few minutes later that Callie and Arizona emerge with a squeaky clean Sofia.

"It took two tubs full of bath water." Callie shakes her head. There was chocolate cake in her ears. Her _ears." _

Sofia reaches for April with a big smile on her face. April holds out here arms, "come here you!"

Callie and Arizona both grin. "She doesn't do that for anyone April. You know that right?" Callie smiles, and then glances at the clock. "ooh, honey, we need to get ready." she and Arizona dissapear into their bedroom to quickly change.

"Miss Sofia, let's see you walk!" April sets her down on the floor, and is delighted to watch her take off around the living room. It's hard to believe that this pink cheeked healthy little girl is the same child who fought for every breath she got only a year earlier.

"Alright April, We're out of here! We shouldn't be too late, probably around midnight. Just text if you need to." Callie scoops Sofia up and smothers her with kisses. Suddenly, Sofia realizes what is happening, and she clings tightly to Callie, her chin quivering. "Mommy!" she begins to whimper.

"Oh, sweetheart it's okay!" April holds out her arms again, but this time Sofia won't budge. "Mommy!" she is now wailing loudly.

Arizona joins them in the living room. "What's up?"

Callie sighs. "She's just having a hard time."

Arizona nods, and turns to Sofia. "Come here baby girl." Callie is grateful that Arizona is able to pry Sofia away from her. She has always been better about Sofia's separation anxiety than Callie. Callie gives her one final kiss, and quietly slips out of the apartment.

"Alright Sofia. It's okay sweet girl. You're alright." Arizona presses her lips to her daughter's cheek. "Auntie April is here, and you're just fine. Okay? I love you baby girl. Have a good night." She fights the screaming baby, and disentangles herself from Sofia long enough for April to get a good grip on her. Callie may think she's better at these sorts of things, but it doesn't make leaving Sofia, screaming and crying any easier on Arizona. She blows Sofia two more kisses, and shuts the door behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

"I've forgotten what it feels like to go out to a restaurant without a paper kids menu." Callie laughs as she and Arizona clasp hands while walking toward their table at Alexander's.

"I've heard the crab cakes here are unbelievable." Mark takes his seat.

"Can I start you off with a round of drinks?" The waiter appears at the side of the table.

"Pinot Grigio." Arizona smiles at the waiter

"Cabernet Please." Callie chimes in.

"I'll take a Pinot Noir please." Mark decides.

Moments later, the drinks arrive at the table, and Mark clears his throat. "A toast, if I may. To you both."

Callie and Arizona raise their glasses. "To the most amazing pair of mothers a man could ever hope for to raise his daughter alongside. You... are both incredible, and wonderful with our daughter."

"Well, I'd also like to toast, to all of us." Callie smiles. "We've been through one hell of a year. It's unbelievable to me to think that a year ago right now, we didn't even know if she'd be coming home, let alone destroying her first birthday cake-

"_running_ around the apartment-" Arizona adds with a chuckle.

"eating everything in sight!" Mark laughs. He loved that his once tiny peanut of a child had developed a voracious appetite, and gobbled up anything put in front of her. They all knew that that ensuring proper nutrition is often tricky in very premature babies. Sofia was turning out to be the exception to the rule.

"to us. To _our_ family." Callie clinks her wine glass with Mark and Arizona's.

* * *

><p>"Ooh, Godfather pat I, sweet!" April grins as she surfs the channels on Callie and Arizona's television. She had gotten Sofia down after an exhausting night, alternating between chasing after the newly walking toddler, and playing with the mountain of new birthday presents she had gotten from her party. About an hour into the movie, and, In April's opinion, the best part, Sofia cries over the monitor. Muting the TV, April gives her a few more minutes, and gets to her feet, and quietly enters Sofia's room.<p>

"Sofia! What's wrong love bug?" April turns on the floor lamp, flooding the nursery with soft light. She can see that Sofia has been chewing on her fingers. "ohhh, you're teething aren't you?" April picks her up out of the crib. "I'm sorry you're not feeling good sweet girl."

Sofia does little to fight her as she measures out a small dose of baby Motrin from the bottle that sits on her changing table. "Alright sweet girl, this is going to make you feel so much better, okay?" She sits down in the rocker, and slowly, Sofia begins to quiet down in April's arms as they continue to rock. Before long, she is sound asleep, breathing deeply against April's chest.

* * *

><p>"Tonight was great, the food, the wine... everything, thank you." Callie hugs Mark tightly as they return back to the apartment.<p>

"Seriously, thank you, so much Mark." Arizona pecks his cheek.

"I'll grab the kid tomorrow morning." He confirms, "I think we'll head down to the aquarium."

"Perfect!" Callie grins as she and Arizona walk into the peaceful quiet apartment.

"Hey!" April smiles from the comfort of the couch.

"How did she do tonight?" Callie sits down next to April.

April smiles. "We had a lot of fun, she woke up a little while ago, she's cutting more teeth, so I gave her a little bit of Motrin and rocked with her for a while, she's been out cold ever since."

"I'll go see how she's doing." Arizona slips quietly into Sofia's room, and is relieved to see her baby girl sleeping soundly, curled up in the corner of her crib. She smiles at her and holds back the urge to scoop her up and bring her into hers and Callie's bedroom. Instead, she quietly covers Sofia up with her beloved pink blankie, and assures that her white noise machine is on before tiptoeing out of the room.

She stands at the doorway of their bedroom, watching her gorgeous wife remove her jewelery and prepare for bed.

"She okay?" Callie looks up.

"Sleeping like a rock, squashed in the corner of her crib like always, I don't get how that could possibly be a comfortable way to sleep." Arizona smiles and enters the room sitting on the edge of their bed.

"You alright?" Callie tilts her head.

"Calliope, There's something I want to talk to you about." Arizona says slowly, nervously biting her lip.

"What is it, What's up?" Callie sits next to her on the bed and takes her hand.

Arizona takes a deep breath, "Callie, I want to give Sofia a sibling."


	8. Chapter 8

"Please Addison, get this child out of me." Arizona moans as she concludes her exam, and slowly helps Arizona to sit up.

"You're only 2 cm dilated Sweetie. If there's no more progress by Monday, then we'll induce. But give it the weekend, try inducing naturally until then."

"How?"

"You can eat spicy foods, you can walk down by the pier, you can always try having sex." Addison suggests.

"No. I feel like a beached whale." Arizona growls.

"Honey. You're not. You're beautiful-" Callie smooths her wife's hair.

"Don't" Arizona snaps.

It had been less than a glowing, easy pregnancy on Arizona these past nine months. While she and Callie had been fortunate enough to find an anonymous donor and get pregnant quickly, Arizona had been plagued with "morning" sickness well into her 3rd trimester, the baby was sitting on a nerve in her back, and was now 5 days past her original due date. Corrina Grace Robbins-Torres was going to have a lot of explaining to do when she finally made her appearance into the world.

"Do you guys need someone to take Sofia off your hands tonight? Addison offers. "I know Mark has a big surgery scheduled for later today, so, just let me know. I'm sure Ella would love to spend the night with her little sister."

Callie shakes her head, "Thank you, but we called April this morning to see if she would be able to hang with Sof tonight. They hardly get to see each other since we moved into the new house."

* * *

><p>"How's my girl doing this morning?" Matt Chase grabs April by the sleeve of her lab coat. She blushes furiously as he pecks her on the lips.<p>

"I'm good, especially now." she bites her lip in a way that makes him crazy. "Neonatal fellowship with Dr. Montgomery has been amazing, I think I really found a speciality I love."

Matt grins, "That's great. I feel the same way about Neuro. Shepherd has been great."

He kisses her again. "So, listen, I figured when you're done tonight, we'd grab some food, maybe catch a late movie?"

April shakes her head. "Can't."

"Why not?" he fake pouts. "Are you seeing someone behind my back Kepner?"

April laughs. "I'm watching Sofia tonight. I told Callie and Arizona I'd help them out. I haven't spent any time with Sofia in months."

"Alright. Alright. Call me tonight when you're done though?"

April smiles. "Of course."

April can hardly contain her excitement for later that evening. Finally, 5 p.m arrives, and she throws her stuff into her car, making the 20 minute drive across town to Callie and Arizona's new house. She immediately picks it out, and confirms that she has the right one when she notices the pink kiddie pool, and the swing affixed to the willow tree in the front yard.

Callie meets her at the door and greets her with a warm smile "Come on in!" April notices Arizona with her eyes shut, sitting on the sofa as she walks in.

"How are you feeling Arizona? She asks gently.

Arizona opens her eyes and glowers in April's direction. "I'm 5 days past my due date. It's July, it's humid and hot outside and I can't see my feet."

"Don't take it personally April, this morning she threatened to leave, and I had to remind her she can't get off the couch by herself, she's just done being pregnant." Callie winks.

April turns her face away from Arizona only for a second to laugh under her breath as Callie plants her feet to help Arizona stand up.

"So, where's Sofia?" she asks brightly.

"Mark's on his way back with her from the park." Callie explains, "We are actually going to get going. Sofia's been a little touchier than usual about us leaving, so, we're gonna get out while we can. I think she's getting a little nervous about the new baby. "

"I see, alright, well, have a good dinner!"

"This isn't going to work" Arizona huffs as Callie helps her into the car. This kid's not coming out. She's staying put.

"She's just taking her time." Callie squeezes her hand, Addison said if you refuse to try having sex to induce labor, you and I are going to take a nice long walk on the pier, we'll...breathe in the salty air, we listen to the waves crashing, then we'll grab some food and I bet by the time we get home tonight, you'll start feeling something."

Arizona pulls her long blonde locks on top of her head. "We'll see."

"We're home! And... in desperate need of a bath!" Mark announces as he walks in with Sofia in his arms. She is a sticky mess of sand, sweat and popsicle residue.

"Hi guys!" April grins, "Callie and Arizona left about half an hour ago to go to dinner and walk on the pier."

"How was she feeling before she left?" Mark chuckles at the look on April's face. "Sunshine and rainbows right?"

"I think she's ready to deliver the kid herself if she doesn't come soon."

Mark laughs, "Alright well, I'm due at the hospital pretty soon, so, If you guys are good here, Sofia? Auntie April is gonna play with you til Mommy and Mama get back, okay?"

Sofia's face splits into a grin as April takes her in her arms. "Hi Sof!"

"Fia _mess._" Sofia bobs her head knowingly, her pigtails flailing up and down.

"Alright you." Mark leans in and kisses her sticky cheek. "Be good for Auntie April and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Dada byebye?"

Mark kisses her again, remembering Callie's suggestion to make goodbyes these days short and sweet, despite Sofia's protests. "She's 3 Mark. She'll be _fine._" He can hear her saying in the back of his mind. Sure enough, Sofia begins to cry as Mark heads for the door, but April whisks her into the bathroom for a long, bubbly soak in the tub before she can get too upset at Daddy's departure.

* * *

><p>"I told you Calliope, this is pointless." Arizona raises an eyebrow as she waddles slowly down the beach, her arm linked with her wife's.<p>

"One more lap. One more lap up and down and we'll go grab some food." Callie promises.

"Aw man my pants!" Arizona can't exactly look down, but she can only suspect they had gotten a bit too close to the shoreline as she feels a splash between her knees.

Callie's eyes widen. "Arizona!"

"What?"

"Arizona, that's not the waves, Callie grins. "Honey... your water just broke."


	9. Chapter 9

"No, Callie, Say no more. I'll stay with Sofia, of course, It's no trouble. I just need to take her with me to my place to get some things for an overnight." April is grinning from ear to ear. "Okay. Of course, I'll take your car. Send Arizona my love and keep me posted."

April squeals excitedly as she hangs up with Callie, and fires off a quick text to Matt.

"_Baby's on her way. Staying with Sofia. Stop by later?"_

She kneels down to Sofia. "Guess what lovebug? Your baby sister is on her way!"

"Mama... baby in belly." Sofia repeats matter of factly, not bothering to look up from her puzzle.

"That's right! And soon, you'll get to meet her, but guess what? You and I are gonna go on a little car trip, over to Auntie April's. How does that sound?"

"Byebye inna car?" Sofia looks up at April with her huge brown eyes.

"Yes ma'am." April settles her into her car seat a few moments later. Before she can put on her seatbelt, her phone rings. Her stomach does a flip when the caller I.D. Flashes "Matt" across her screen.

"Hi!" she breathes.

"So, the kid decided to start making an appearance?" She can hear the smile in Matt's voice.

"She sure did. I've got Sofia with me now, and we're heading back to my place so I can grab a few things to get me through til tomorrow."

"Awesome, why don't we meet for some food when you're done, I'd love to meet Sofia. I can take both of you out on a date, celebrate the fact that she's about to become a big sister. If... you think her parents would be okay with it."

April's heart melts. "I think they've got their hands full right about now, and I love the idea. Why don't we meet in an hour at my place?"

"Perfect. I'll see you both then."

"Arizona, how's your pain?" Addison stand over her bed, "Are you ready for the epidural?"

"Beyond ready." Arizona groans. Beads of sweat dot her brow, and Callie quickly dabs her face with a cool washcloth.

"You're still only 3 cm dilated, but, we're making progress." Addison squeezes her hand. "I'll send Dr. Warren in with the epidural, okay?"

Arizona swallows hard and nods.

"Did someone say they're having a baby in here?" Mark appears in the doorway, grinning like a halloween jack-o-lantern. "I just wanted to stop in between surgeries." He rubs Callie's shoulder. "You guys okay?"

"We're good, Mark."

"And Sofia?"

"April's got her."

" Let her know I can pick her up tomorrow morning, I'm on call through tonight, but I'll get her at 9..." Mark begins, and then quickly adds "I'll call her myself."

"Thanks" Callie smiles.

"You guys are more than welcome to stay and hang out here April." Meredith smiles, as they watch Zola and Sofia play together in the back yard.

"Thanks Mere. Actually um, Matt's on his way over here. We're gonna go grab some food with him."

Meredith raises an excited eyebrow. "It's really getting serious between you two isn't it! Do you think you'll... yknow?"

"_Mere!"_ April blushes down to her roots.

"You've waited a long time April. And Matt... he's a good guy. Derek loves him, he's brilliant, and talented and he worships you." Meredith shrugs. "Guys like Matt don't come around all that often."

April smiles, both at Meredith and quietly to herself. She knows all of these things, and has known them about Matt since they had met, back in Ohio in Kindergarten. His winding up at Seattle Grace has been a sign to April right from the start that they should be together. They had grown up across the street from one another, spent hours in her tree house talking about super heroes, blowing giant bubbles with their bubble gum, and even staging a sit in protest when Joe Kepner tried to bring the treehouse down one memorable summer.

The truth was, she had finally lost her virginity to him only a couple of months after they had gotten serious. She knew in her heart that night that it was time. It had taken her so long to get to that point in the first place, and she and Matt had agreed that night, it was a private, special moment between them, and them alone, and frankly, the loss of her virginity was no ones business but hers.

"Anyone home?" Matt's voice echoes through the kitchen.

"Back here!" April excitedly calls out.

"Any new news in the past hour?" Matt joins them in the back yard. April shakes her head, "It's probably not going to be a quick labor, she's Arizona's first baby."

"Ah." Matt rubs his hands together. "Are you and Sofia ready to go?"

"We sure are." April kneels down and picks Sofia up. "Are you ready to go Sofia? This is Matt! Can you say hi?"

Sofia giggles shyly, and buries her face deep in April's shoulder. "She'll come around." April winks before turning to Meredith. "We'll keep you posted."

"Please do! Let me know if you need anything. Meredith lifts Zola on to her hip, and the two little girls adorably wave to one another as April and Matt walk back to Callie's car.

"So, where are we headed?" April sneaks a kiss as she settles into the passenger seat.

Matt grins. "I thought we'd grab a bite at Geraldines, and maybe have some ice cream after that?"

"I'm liking this plan! Sofia? Are you hungry?"

"food inna tummy?" she tilts her head and giggles.

"Oh come on. She's too cute." Matt shakes his head, "really. I can totally see how you'd blow me off to hang out with her."

"Right?" April laughs, "I've known her since she was born. I was actually one of her NICU doctors."

"She was a NICU baby?"

April nods, and tells Matt the story of how Sofia was brought into the world as they continue to drive along to the restaurant.

* * *

><p>"Okay Arizona! Are you ready to start pushing?" Addison smiles up at her. "Whenever you're ready give me a good push."<p>

Arizona shakes her head "No! I'm not ready, we're not ready, I can't, no!" she grabs Callie's hand. "I can't do this. I wasn't cut out for this, I- I can't, Callie I can't"

"Yes you can. Arizona, do you hear me, yes you can. You can do this. Corrina is almost here, and you... you can do this. Look at me. Arizona? Look. At. me, right now." Callie says firmly.

Arizona opens her eyes, and focuses on Callie's face. "Just focus on me. You can do this. I know you can. Now come on."

Arizona takes a deep breath, and stares into Callie's face, and finally begins pushing.

* * *

><p>"I think... we effectively wore her out." Matt chuckles, as they finally return to Callie and Arizona's later that night. They had all had a blast at Geraldine's, and Sofia was turning out to be quite the little flirt with April's boyfriend. She batted her eyes shyly from the safety of April's lap at the beginning of the evening, but by the time they had reached the house, it was Matt who was carrying her up to her room. April was practically a melted puddle on the floor by the end of the night.<p>

"Here I'll take her." she whispers, carefully laying Sofia on her changing table and fishing out a pair of pajamas to change her into. She puts a clean overnight diaper on her, and wipes her face and hands carefully.

Matt sits down in the rocking chair, making no motion to leave.

"You're so good with her." he smiles.

She shrugs, smiling at the compliment. "She makes it easy."

"No. I mean it, you're a natural. Do you ever think about having kids of your own one day?"

She can feel her knees weaken at this particular line of questioning. Of course she thought about her own kids, and recently, had pictured what her and Matt's babies would look like.

"Of course I do." she smiles, gently kissing Sofia's forehead before tucking her into her toddler bed. "one day. Hopefully in the not too distant future."

"Me too." Matt nods, standing up, and following April out of Sofia's room. He grins devilishly, and pulls her by the hand back down into the living room.

"I've been holding back _all_ night." He whispers, grabbing her by the back of the head and pulling her in for a long, passionate kiss.

"Me too." she pulls him down on to the couch and nips at his lower lip. She knows full well where this could wind up going and pulls away for a moment. "No sex." she warns. "Not here."

Matt nods, "I know. I know."

April giggles to herself as he dots her neck with soft kisses, feeling only slightly guilty for making out with her boyfriend on her friends' couch.

* * *

><p>"Okay, Arizona listen to me. I know you've been pushing for 2 hours. But she's so close. Addison smiles through her mask. You've been a total warrior. I just need one last giant push Arizona, and she'll be all yours."<p>

Arizona, drenched in sweat, gathers every ounce of strength she has left, and screams her way through one final push. And suddenly, the miraculous sound of a crying newborn fills the delivery room.

"She's here! She's here! Oh my god... Arizona, she's here." Callie sobs as they place Corrina directly on Arizona's chest. Arizona can feel her daughter's tiny heart beating wildly.

She wipes her tears away and stares at the tiny girl in her arms, unable to form words. She looks up at Callie. "She... She's here." she finally stammers.

Callie kisses her forehead. " Happy Birthday Corrina Grace." She whispers.

"Callie do you want to cut the cord?" Addison asks gently.

Callie nods, and carefully cut's Corrina's umbilical cord. "There you go little one. First step towards independence." she smiles.

Arizona gently hands the newborn over to Callie, and waits patiently to hear her stats.

Callie gives her a thumbs up. "She's perfect Arizona. She's absolutely perfect." 6 pounds, 5 ounces, 20 inches long."

"What's her APGAR?"

Callie grins. "8. Our daughter's perfect." She snuggles her closely while Addison tends to Arizona. "Corrina, you have so many people who can't wait to meet you." Callie murmurs. Best of all, you have a big sister, named Sofia, at home who can't wait to see you."

"Alright Arizona. You're perfect. I'll come back to check on you in a couple of hours." Addison smiles. "You did great, mom."

* * *

><p>April wipes her eyes free of the joyful tears as she hangs up the phone with Callie a couple of hours later in the evening. She turns to Matt, smiling so hard that her cheeks ache.<p>

"She's here. The baby, she's here and she's perfect, her name is Corrina, and she- she's perfect! Callie says she has Arizona's eyes and chin and she's got light hair, just like her mom."

Matt jumps up and pumps his fist in the air. "Yes! April! That's awesome!" He kisses her quickly, and lifts her off of her feet."I'm so glad for everyone. For Dr. Torres and Dr. Robbins, for Sofia, for everyone."

and in that quiet, sweet moment, April knows for sure, that she has officially, really, truly fallen in love, for the very first time in her life.


	10. Chapter 10

"Dr. Torres?"

Callie opens one eye from the on call room and turns her head toward the nurse standing at the door. "What's up?"

"I know you said not to wake you, but, Your daughter's school is on the phone. They're asking to speak to you."

Callie gets to her feet and shakes her head in frustration as she picks up the extension.

"This is Doctor Torres."

"Dr. Torres, this is Natalie Hartmann."

Callie nods, "Right, you're the after school director. What's up, is Sofia okay?"

Natalie hesitates. "She's... having a rough day in after school today Dr. Torres. I think it might be best if someone can come and pick her up."

"Right. Of course. Um, someone will be there to pick her up in 30 minutes." Callie sighs, and hangs up the phone. She fishes her cell phone out of her pocket, and notices the school had attempted to call twice before.

Knowing that Mark has just begun a 5 hour surgery, She fires off a text to Arizona who is home with Corrina, who woke up with a sick stomach in the middle of the night. _"Any way u can pick up Sof?_ After school called. She needs to be picked up."

a second later, her wife texts back _"Corrina just puked all over our kitchen floor. Can't leave house. sry"_

Callie exhales slowly, and gets her purse out of her locker. Thankfully, her afternoon was light, with no elective surgery scheduled whatsoever. She breezes past Owen on her way out of the E. R.

"I'm out,kid emergency" she yells, and looks back only to see him nodding that he had gotten the memo.

"Dr. Torres." Natalie Hartmann greets her with a smile. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Is Sofia okay?" Callie asks, looking around for some sign of her daughter.

Natalie motions to the girls bathroom. "She locked herself in the stall in the girls bathroom Dr. Torres. I think she may have had some kind of accident."

Callie nods quietly, "Okay. Thanks for calling Natalie." She sighs, and heads for the girls bathroom.

"Sofia?" she calls softly, "Mommy's here. It's okay to unlock the door sweetheart." Her heart breaks as she can hear Sofia sniffling quietly.

"Mommy?" Her tiny voice echoes throughout the bathroom. A moment later the bathroom stall unlocks, and Sofia emerges. Sure enough, Callie can tell she's had an accident.

Callie kneels down. "what happened Sofia?"

Sofia's chin quivers. "I was... I was just playing with the jump ropes, and I didn't even have to go and then I did and- she stops short

"what?" Callie wipes her daughter's tear stained face

"Cadence laughed at me and called me a baby!" She wailed.

Callie silently wraps her daughter in her arms. "Accidents happen sweetheart. You're not a baby. It's okay."

"I'm sorry mommy." she whimpers.

Callie kisses the top of her head, "Stay here okay? You still have a change of clothes in your cubby in miss Jessica's class, right?"

Sofia nods, hiccuping a moment later.

Callie emerges from the bathroom and heads for Sofia's classroom. She is relieved to see Sofia's teacher sitting in the room.

"Dr. Torres!" Miss Jessica smiles.

"Jessica! Hi, I just need to get to Sofia's cubby, she had an accident, so, we're gonna get her changed, and head home." Callie explains.

"Here let me help you out" Jessica shows her to Sofia's cubby.

"Dr. Torres" She starts slowly

"Oh, please, call me Callie"  
>"Callie, I'm glad you happened to stop in today. I've been meaning to call you to set up a meeting" Jessica continues, "I was wondering if you and Dr. Robbins and Dr. Sloan could come by here on friday, around 4? I know it's a lot to ask, but, it's necessary.<p>

"Is Sofia okay?"

Jessica nods, but there is something in her tone that Callie finds somewhat unconvincing.

"what is it?" Callie asks, "You don't have to hold back."

"I just have some concerns about Sofia. We can discuss them on Friday though, okay?"

Callie nods. Deep down, she had seen this day coming. She knew her girl was bright, and beautiful. But the fact was, there was always a chance that being born so severely premature would impact Sofia's life somewhere down the line. Up until kindergarten, Callie, Arizona and Mark had considered themselves unbelievably blessed when it came to watching Sofia develop. But she knew.

"We'll be here on Friday at 4" Callie says quietly, turning to leave the classroom.

Jessica smiles kindly. "Thank you Dr. Torres."

With a heavy heart, Callie returns to Sofia, who is waiting patiently for her mommy to return.

"Alright kiddo." Callie smiles widely at her. "Let's get you changed, and then we'll head home."

Sofia's face brightens "Tonight Auntie April comes over!" she reminds Callie, who, up until that point had completely forgotten.

"That's right! Mama and I are going to go out, and you and Corrina are going to stay and play with Auntie April."

"Why can't you take Corrina with you?" Sofia whines, as Callie ties her shoes, and carefully places her wet clothes in the plastic bag at her side.

"Sof. We've talked about this." Callie patiently responds.

"I hate it when she's there! She messes everything up!"

"Sof. She's only been there one other time during your big girl time with Auntie April. It's not a big deal."

Sofia crosses her arms. "I don't want her there during big girl time! She's a baby! She's not a big girl! She can't do big girl things like Auntie April and I do! Mommy no! She can't be there!" She is beginning to melt down as Callie buckles her into the backseat of her car.

"Sofia. It's not up for discussion. Corrina is staying home. Mama and I are going out, and you guys are staying home, and I'm sure,I'm positive actually, that Auntie April will make it fun for both of you."

Callie can feel her patience beginning to wear thin as Sofia continues to melt down in the back seat.

"I don't care, I don't want her to be there!" Sofia sobs angrily, and in one swift movement, removes her sneaker, and launches it into the front seat in protest.

Callie's eyes bore into her daughter from the rearview mirror.

"Grounded." she declares. Luckily, they have just pulled into the driveway.

"No! Mommy I'm sorry I'm sorry I won't be bad again!" Callie feels as though she is dragging her 5 year old daughter into their house.

"Go upstairs Sofia. I'll be up there in a minute." Callie's teeth are clenched tightly.

"What happened?" Arizona emerges from the kitchen with Corrina in her arms.

"She threw a shoe at me while I was driving Arizona. She took off her shoe, and threw it into the front seat." Callie breathes hard. "I... I just need a minute."

Arizona nods. "Take a second. Come on, she's up in her room, just... take your coat off and take a breath before you go up there."

"How's my baby?" Callie can feel her blood pressure returning to normal. She strokes Corrina's cheek and frowns. "Still no break in the fever huh?"

Arizona puffs out her lower lip and shakes her head. "her tummy's not good." but the bight side is, I'm quite certain there's nothing left in there to puke." She kisses her baby's forehead and grimaces. "I wish her fever would break. I'm afraid April will have her hands full when she comes over tonight."

"Did you warn her?"

Arizona nods, "I called her this morning. She said she's fine with it. She also mentioned she has something she needs to ask us when she gets here. I think she's got some big news."

Callie's eyes widen "Do you think Matt finally proposed?"

Arizona grins. "I think he may have. At any rate, she's on her way, and we, my lovely, gorgeous, talented wife, have a night off duty for the first time in months.

Callie sighs. "We need to discuss something. Jessica needs to meet with you, Mark and I on Friday, at 4. She has "concerns."

Arizona nods and slowly exhales, "Okay. Friday at 4. I got it."

"Thank you." Callie says returning to her feet. Alright. I need to go upstairs, and talk to Sofia.

"Be strong" Arizona winks.

"Sofia?" Callie quietly enters her room. Sofia is sitting on the edge of her bed staring at her hands.

"Do you hate me, Mommy?" Sofia doesn't look up.

"Sofia. I don't hate you. Sometimes, you do things I don't like, like today when you threw your shoe into the front seat. That's not okay. But I don't hate you. I could never, ever hate you."

"I'm sorry I threw it." Sofia wipes her eyes.

Callie sighs. "Once, I threw an entire can of opened refried beans in my mom's kitchen because I didn't want to eat them."

"You did?"

Callie nods. "I got in big trouble."

"I'm in big trouble huh?"

Callie sighs. "You're in trouble, but, not big trouble. Listen, Mommy understands, you haven't had a great day, but Sofia, listen to me. Don't ever, ever, ever do that again, do you understand? Mommy was driving when you did that, It's not okay, it's unsafe, and it could have really put us in danger. Do you understand?

Sofia nods solemly. "Can I come out of my room?"

Callie thinks for a moment, "You can. But Sofia, listen to mommy, no more tantrums tonight. Not a one. Not about dinner, not about Corrina. Or I'll have Auntie April send you right back up here, and there won't be a big girl night. I know how much you love this, you look forward to big girl night every year, don't you?"

Sofia nods her head quickly.

"So that's the rule. We can go downstairs, but you need to be a nice, kind, polite girl, and you need to be sweet to your sister. Corrina's tummy has been bothering her all day, and she doesn't feel good."

"Corrina's sick?" Sofia's eyes fill with concern as Callie nods.

"Come on Mommy, Let's go downstairs and keep her and Mama company." Sofia sweetly pulls Callie to her feet.

Arizona throws Callie a glance as they enter the kitchen. "Everything okay?" She turns to Sofia.

Sofia nods quietly.

Callie holds her arms out for the whining toddler in Arizona's arms. "Come here my love. Let's give Mama a break."

Corrina lifts her head off of Arizona's shoulder long enough to find a comfortable place in Callie's arms. She quietly sticks her thumb in her mouth as Callie strokes her fine blonde hair.

"Corrina!" Sofia claps her hands to get her sister's attention. "Do you know what tonight is?"

Arizona grins. "I don't think she does Sof."

Sofia grins proudly, "Corrina, it's_ Big Girl_ night!" and proceeds to tell her little sister all the fun things that big girl night includes, right up until Auntie April rings their doorbell.


	11. Chapter 11

"Shes here she's here she's here!" Sofia hops off of Arizona's lap and races for the door.

April can't help but smile as she hears Sofia's pounding feet and excited squeal as she reaches the front door.

"Auntie _April_!" She throws the door open and flings her body into April's open arms.

"Hi kiddo!" April squeals.

"Mama says you have big news, do you have big news, what's your big news?" Sofia wraps her arms around April's neck.

April laughs, "I do have big news, let's go into the kitchen and I'll tell you all about my big, exciting news." she winks.

"Okay Kepner, I've been waiting all day!" Arziona claps excitedly. April puts her stuff down, and softly kisses the top of Corrinas feverish head."Hello sweetness" she murmurs, before straightening and finally, extending her left hand excitedly, showing off a gorgeous diamond engagement ring.

"he asked last night!"

"Oh my _God, _look at that ring!" Callie grabs her hand. "1.5 carat, princess cut, nice _job_ Matt!"

"Lemme see! lemme see your wedding ring!" Sofia tugs on Aprils hand.

" it's not my wedding ring though, April corrects, this is my engagement ring."

"An endangered ring?" Sofia whispers. "Were learning about endangered animals in Miss Jessica's class. They're animals people wanna keep safe cause threes not too many left. Sofia clasps April's hand, don't take it off okay?"

"not _endangered_ Sofia, Callie corrects, _engagement._"

"That's what I _said_ mommy!"

April smiles, an engagement ring is like a promise. Last night uncle Matt asked me to marry him Sofia, and the ring, well it's a promise that it's going to happen!"

Sofas eyes light up, "like when my moms got married?"

"exactly. And I have a very, very important question to ask you Sofia."

Sofia blinks seriously "okay."

"How would you like to be my flower girl at the wedding?"

Sofias five year old jaw drops. "I get to be a girl made out of flowers? I _love _flowers!"

April bursts out laughing, well not exactly, but you will get to wear a very, very pretty dress and toss flowers all the way down the church out of a basket. How does that sound?"

Sofia looks to Callie and Arizona. "Can I? Please?"

"Of course you can." Callie says.

April takes Sofia by the shoulders. "Okay flower girl. This is serious business. We need to find you a dress sometime soon."

Suddenly Callie is struck with an idea.

"April, what are you up to this Friday afternoon?"

April thinks for a moment, "nothing, I have the day off actually."

"we have a...meeting to go to she says quietly motioning to Sofia. "if you're up for it, maybe you could do the dress shopping after Sofia finishes kindergarten?"

"That's a great idea! She kneels down, Sof, what do you think about me picking you up from school?"

Sofia hops around the kitchen wildly. "yay yay yay yay GOODY!" just me right? Corrina won't be there?"

Arizona shakes her head. "We'll get a babysitter to take care of Corrina. Just big girls on this trip Sofia."

Sofia can barely contain her excitement. "Okay mama, mommy, you go have your date now she announces. Out out out out out!"

"Alright alright! So quick to get rid of us, she's practically pushing us out the door!" Callie stands up laughing, and carefully and hands Corrina to April.

"poor feverish baby." April clucks as Corrina puts her head down on her shoulder, too out of it to really understand that her moms are leaving.

"Call us if she seems to get worse." Arizona kisses her baby one last time.

"don't worry mama we will!" Sofia calls after them.

* * *

><p>"I love that she has such a great bond with April. I think it's good for her, to have other influences besides us. And you can't get much better than Kepner. She's pure as the driven snow as far as influences go." Arizona smiles as she and Callie wait for their entrees at the corner diner.<p>

Callie nods. "She worships her. Who would have thought all those years ago right? April Kepner? such a big part of our lives? I don't know what we'd do without her now."

"She's turned out to be a really amazing, wonderful, extended part of the family hasn't she?" Arizona says.

"And now she's starting her own. It's pretty cool."

Callie snorts. "We are so planning that bachelorette party Arizona."

* * *

><p>"Sweetie I promise I'll play with you, I will, as soon as Corrina falls asleep." Aprils heart breaks as she watches Sofia's face crumble. She felt terrible, but the cranky, sick, feverish toddler's refusal to be put down was making "big girl night" a disaster.<p>

"I'll just go play dollies by myself." Sofia says sadly, leaving April behind in Corrina's room.

Finally, after one more dose of Motrin, 2 ounces of "pedialyte" and a quick bath, Corrina finally drifts off to sleep, and April is able to sneak out of the baby's room to find Sofia. April finds her in the playroom, quietly playing with her dollhouse.

"Corrina's finally asleep!" she flops down on the bean bag chair next to Sofia.

Sofia shrugs."so?"

"Sofia, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry big girl night got kind of ruined." April starts.

"Corrina ruins_ everything_!" Sofia angrily looks up at April.

"Sof, I said I was sorry, but Corrina can't help that she's sick...but look, I'm here now, and theres an hour before bed time. I'm all yours."

Sofia refuses to budge. "It's not the same."

"No. It's not. You're right. but at least we still have Friday, right?"

Sofia thinks for a moment. "yeah..."

April smiles with a new idea formulating in her head. "What if...I ask your moms if you can have a sleepover at Auntie April and Uncle Matt's house? We can paint our nails, and watch a movie...even order pizza! Come on Sofia, what do you say? A big girl sleepover party."

Sofia stares at her. "Cadence and Maddy had a sleepover one time. They said they stayed up til 10:30. I've never had a sleepover before." she says.

"Alright well it's up to your moms, Sofia, April warns, knowing she may have taken a calculated risk by suggesting it to the five year old before her parents, but desperation to fix Sofia's crushed and disappointed heart won out.

Sofia finally smiles. "Okay. Who do you want to be? We're playing dollhouse. She explains in a serious tone. "There's about to be a big storm and one of the cats is loose and no one can find her.

* * *

><p>"Okay. So, Friday is set for 4:00, for sure. " Callie looks up from her phone on the way home. Jessica just emailed back, I swear that woman walks on water. Answering her emails at 10:00 at night. I <em>swear.<em> Mark says he can make it, so, we're good. We're in business."

Arizona sighs, "I'm nervous. I won't lie. I've kind of been dreading this day since, well, since I got her heart to start beating to be honest." a few tears roll down Arizona's cheeks.

"Hey. _Hey." _Callie squeezes her hand. "Whatever Jessica says, we'll get through it, just like we have with everything else. She's going to be fine. Okay?"

Arizona nods quietly as she parks in the driveway "Okay."

Callie smiles tightly. The truth was, she was dreading Friday more than she was willing to admit to anyone.

"Come on let's go in."

"Hey April!" Arizona whispers as they walk into the living room. "How did it go?"

April smiles. "Corrina's been down since about 7. I just checked on her, and I think her fever is breaking, finally. And... Sofia and I made a little bit of a deal tonight I need to talk to you both about."

"Oh?" Callie chuckles, "I can't wait to hear this."

"She was kind of...well, really crushed that Corrina sort of hijacked tonight. so... I told her I'd ask if I could keep her at mine and Matt's on Friday, overnight... to make up for tonight. I hope you don't mind... I should have run it by you first, but she was so crushed—I-I-just had to do something."

"April- April stop!" Arizona interrupts her. "It's f_ine_. Right Callie?" she glances towards her wife.

"Are you kidding, keep her all weekend if you want!" Callie jokes. "No, seriously, April that's awesome. I don't know how we'll get her to go to bed on Thursday unless we sedate her but... she's all yours on Friday. Hell, it gives us something to hold over her head to be good for until then. You've done us a favor!"

April breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay! Awesome! I should get going but, I'll see you both at work tomorrow, and I'll see Sofia on Friday after school!"


	12. Chapter 12

"Hi I'm April Kepner, I'm here to pick up Sofia Torres?"

"Auntie April!" Sofia's voice rings across the front office. Her backpack flies behind her as she breaks away from her class.

"Hi sweetheart!" April scoops her up, backpack and all. "Are you ready to go?"

"Is this the famous Auntie April we've been hearing so much about?" A friendly voice comes up behind them.

"Hi Principal Nina." Sofia waves with a smile.

Nina grins at April, "You're all she's been talking about all week. I hear you two are off to find a flower girl dress?"

April nods and sets Sofia down on her feet. "We sure are, and then we're meeting my fiance for a quick dinner, and then it's back to our house, right Sof?"

"Right!" She pulls at April's hand. "Come on let's go!"

* * *

><p>"Callie, stop pacing. It's going to be fine. Arizona tries to reassure her as they stand in the school an hour later.<p>

"Where the _hell_ is Mark?" she rolls her eyes. "It's 5 minutes to 4. He can't be late for this."

Suddenly the side door to the school opens and Mark races in "I'm here. I made it. I'm here" he breathes.

A moment later, Jessica Santos opens her classroom door. "Hi guys, come on in."

"I feel like we've been called to the principals office." Mark mumbles as they crowd around a liliputian sized table.

"Don't be nervous." Jessica smiles kindly. "There's nothing to be nervous about. I just thought I'd throw that out there, because all three of you look like you're about to pass out on my floor. Relax."

Simultaneously, all three of Sofia's parents take a deep breath.

"First of all, I want to say that I adore Sofia. She's bright, and cheerful, and such a sweetheart. She's well spoken, and the other kids really love her."

"But" Callie finishes.

Jessica smiles. "She seems to have a very difficult time understanding the basic concepts we're trying to master. She's struggling with her sight reading, her math, and, from an emotional component too, Sofia definitely has some deficits. She loses her temper when she's frustrated, and it's become disruptive to the classroom. Now, I know she had some medical problems at birth.

"She was 17 weeks premature." Arizona says quietly.

and I'm just very concerned that she's falling behind as we get closer to the end of the year. I'm just concerned with how much ground Sofia has left to cover, in order to be successful when school resumes next year.

Callie grips Arizona's hand under the table.

Mark nods. "what can we do to help her?"

Jessica clasps her hands. "I'd like to consider recommending Sofia for special education assistance."

* * *

><p>"Oh wow, Sofia. I think I love this dress the most." April carefully zips her up, and stands behind her in the mirror at "Cinderella's Castle", a special dress store on the other side of town.<p>

Sofia's eyes light up as she runs her hands over the fabric. "I feel like a _princess!_" she squeals, swishing the shiny, puffy white fabric back and forth.

"Can I spin?" she grins up at April.

"Of course you can!" April opens the door to the dressing room, and watches Sofia spin in circles, the skirt of the dress flying out in all directions around her.

"I'm _dizzy_!" Sofia finally proclaims, stumbling around, trying to regain her balance.

"I think we may have found the one." April turns to the store clerk. "Now I just have to figure out how to get her to change out of it."

* * *

><p>"Are you <em>serious<em>?" Callie can feel her blood pressure beginning to rise. "How dare you! Sofia is fine! She's just fine, how dare you imply that she has any kind of... anything! She doesn't need any sort of special education plans Jessica! _No_. No way."

"Calliope, calm down." Arizona says, trying to get her to sit back down.

"No Arizona! She's telling us that our daughter needs something other than a normal, regular curriculum for school. She's saying she needs to ride the short bus! My kid doesn't need to ride the short bus!"

"Callie, she doesn't even ride the school bus" Arizona slowly points out. "We drive her to school every day..."

"It's a metaphor Arizona. she snaps.

"Callie. Sit down." Mark echoes Arizona. "We need to hear her out."

"Dr. Torres. I'm not suggesting we put her in a secluded classroom." Jessica says calmly. "Please, sit down, and I can tell you what I think might work for Sofia."

Arizona shoots Callie a look, "Are you ready to listen?" she asks softly.

* * *

><p>"This is where we're eating dinner?" Sofia giggles. "It's the cafteria at the hospickle<em> silly!"<em>

"The what?" April chuckles.

"_Hopsickle!_ Where you work!" Sofia sighs with exasperation.

April's heart melts, and she finds herself unable to correct Sofia's pronunciation. She holds her hand tightly and smiles down at her. "Uncle Matt is working tonight, so I said we'd meet him here." She explains. "Besides, you like the food here, don't you Sof?"

Sofia thinks for a moment."I like their grilled cheese."

"I like grilled cheese too!" Matt sneaks up behind them, and kisses April's cheek. "How was dress shopping ladies? Did we find the one?"

Sofia grins and bobs her head up and down. "But you can't see it. It's a surprise."

Matt sticks his tongue out at her, causing her to giggle. "Shall we hop in line?"

"Look there's Auntie Cristina!" Sofia lets go of Matt's hand and races to Cristina's table. The look of shock on her godmother's face is enough to make anyone burst out laughing.

"What are you doing here Chicken?" She tries to maintain the scowl on her face, but the corners of her mouth twitch so much that she realizes it's no use.

"Nothin... Blue Cow!" Sofia giggles, proud of herself for finally coming up with a suitable nickname for her godmother. 5 years of being called Chicken was enough to drive anyone crazy.

"Blue cow! _Blue cow?"_ Cristina hoists Sofia on to her lap and tickles her. "Why blue cow?"

"Because you're wearing blue hopsickle clothes... and you're bigger than me and... blue cow!" Sofia is gasping for air from laughing. "Stop! Stop tickling me or I'll pee on you!" she finally yells, forcing Cristina to kick her off of her lap almost instantly.

"whew!"

"No, seriously, Sof, who are you here with? I know your moms aren't working, and your dad is off too-

"She's here with us." April pipes up, "We kidnapped your Goddaughter for tonight."

"And you brought here here... to the cafeteria." Cristina shakes her head. "Sofia. Have I failed you as your Godmother? Have I taught you nothing about the difference between good food and bad food?"

"You're silly." Sofia nods knowingly, before planting a kiss on Cristina's cheek.

Cristina looks at April and Matt. "My Goddaughter deserves better than the food here."

* * *

><p>Callie is stone silent as she drives back to the house with Arizona.<p>

"It's not the end of the world." Arizona finally decides to break the ice.

"Repeating kindergarten, getting her an aide, specialized homework that's easier to understand?" It pretty much sounds like it to me." Callie snaps.

"Calliope. We always knew this was a possibility. Sofia repeating kindergarten is not the worst thing in the world. Think about how this is going to help her in the long run. So she's a little older, would you rather her be a little more mature than the rest of the class, or struggle like Jessica said she is now?"

Callie sighs. "I don't want her to feel like a freak."

"She wont. Remember what Jessica said, we can get her through the rest of this year, and then next year we can start with the IEP. She'll be in a new classroom, with different kids, I'm telling you, this isn't the end of the world."

"And what about her classmates that are going on to first grade, you know how cruel some of those girls are, that one little viper, Whatever her name is, Cadence? You know she'll tease her Arizona, and I will not allow our kid to be teased."

"I can teach her how to throw a punch..." Arizona suggests.

"No. because then she'll be a freak with anger issues. I... I don't know what I want to do."

Arizona chews her lower lip. "What about looking into a completely new school, she can turn over a new leaf, make all new friends, and we can sit down with her teachers beforehand and discuss her options."

Callie sighs, and reaches for her wife's hand. "That I might be able to live with." she finally says.

* * *

><p>It may only be 10:15 at night, but April is completely, bone suckingly exhausted by the time she gets Sofia to bed in the guest room next to hers and Matt's bedroom.<p>

"How did she do?" Matt asks over the phone as she's crawling into bed.

April grins. "Well, after we had some ice cream on the patio, I painted her toenails, we watched the jungle book with Meredith and Zola, the party crashers who swooped in just as Sofia was beginning to get homesick, and she and Zola both fell completely asleep 20 minutes into the movie. That sleeping bag in the living room trick my mom told me about works like a charm."

"nice. I'm sorry I missed it."

"You're a smelly boy. No smelly boys invited! remember?" she reminds him.

"Ah yes. I keep forgetting I wasn't allowed, even if I wanted to be there." he chuckles, "though, I wouldn't be opposed to having my nails painted or makeup put on... he trails off, knowing he has gotten his fiance to laugh in the way that makes him fall in love with her even more if that was even remotely possible.

"Okay now you're a smelly boy _and_ a freak." April laughs. "I should hang up, I don't want to wake Sofia and if I stay on the phone you're going to make me laugh."

"excuses excuses."

"_Goodnight_ Dr. Chase!" she says in a singsong voice. "I'll see you tomorrow when you drag your zombie carcass into our bedroom."

"You know it. Sweet dreams my love."

"Love you." She hangs up her phone, and draws her knees up to her chest for a moment, missing her guy only for a second, before Sofia appears in her doorway.

"Sof?" April draws back the covers, "What's wrong sweetie? Do you miss home?"

Sofia nods silently, wiping her eyes from the doorway. "I can't sleep."

April smiles. "Do you want to come sleep in the big bed?" She pats the mattress, "come on up kiddo."

Sofia wastes no time in snuggling up to her aunt. April cups her chin in her hands. "Alright. Let's get some shut eye kiddo." She kisses Sofia's forehead, and tucks her in tightly before turning out the light.


	13. Chapter 13

"27 days til Daddy and Lexie and Ella and me go to Disneyland, 43 days til I get to be a flower girl in Auntie April's wedding and...Sofia pauses for dramatic effect. 60 more days til I'm a first grader! Yay yay yay yay! She leaps up from her seat at the dinner table and dances around the kitchen as Callie and Arizona exchange identical broken hearted expressions.

"I can't keep doing this." Callie grimaces, she's been non stop about the first grade since school got out two weeks ago."

"I know." Arizona sighs.

Callie takes a deep breath. "We need to tell her."

"Right now? Arizona sips her iced tea. "Mark should be here don't you think?"

"Tell me what?" Sofia stops hopping in front of Callie.

"Sofia come finish your dinner."Arizona busies herself breaking up bites of chicken and feeding them to Corrina in her high chair.

"What do you have to tell me?" Sofia asks again.

Callie can feel her heart lurching. She looks to Arizona. "There's never going to be a perfect opportunity" she says quietly.

"Alright, he'll be pissed he wasn't here." Arizona warns, but Callie has already made up her mind.

Taking another deep breath, she turns to Sofia.

"Baby, we need to talk to you about first grade." she starts slowly.

Sofia smiles. "It's going to be so much more awesome than kindergarten. I'm gonna have a desk and a pencil box and I'm gonna keep a lucky penny in the bottom of it. The desk I mean... not the pencil box. I guess I could keep a penny in both."

"Sofia, you aren't going to be going to first grade. Not this year baby." Callie says, gently taking her hand."

"What do you mean?" Sofia's eyes fill with tears. "Why can't I go?"

"Well, Arizona jumps in. We talked it over, mommy, daddy and I, and we want you to have the best, _best_ time when you go to first grade Sofia."

"Remember how sometimes, this year was really hard, and you didn't always like going to school?" Callie reminds her. "Well, we don't want you to feel that way when you go to first grade, so were going to do kindergarten, for one more year. So that when it's time for first grade, you're totally ready, and we know it's going to be awesome."

Sofia buries her face in her hands. "I have to...s-s-stay in Kindergarten while everyone else goes to f-first grade?" She sobs. "Everyone's going to make fun of me!"

"No! Sofia you haven't heard the best part! Callie suddenly says, Mama and Daddy and I, were going to send you to a brand new school, a _better _school where you can make all new friends! It'll be like a totally fresh start!"

Sofia looks at her in horror. "I don't _want_ new friends! I want _my_ friends!" she angrily stands up from the table and runs to her room.

"Well that was... awesome." Callie says quietly. "I'll go up and talk to her."

"Give her a few minutes. Let her calm down a little." Arizona says, wiping Corrina's hands and face and lifting her out of her seat. "Big sister is having a tough time tonight Corrina" she sighs.

"Fia?" Corrina looks around for her big sister. "Fia ah gone?"

"Hey hey hey! Anyone home?" Mark suddenly calls out from the front door.

"in here" Callie calls.

Mark is all smiles as he enters their kitchen. "I had some time before I head into the hospital and wanted to swing in and see my girl. where's Sofia? I have the coolest thing to tell her about Disneyland."

"Mark." Callie says. "She knows."

"Knows what?"

"We told her, about next year."

The smile disappears from Marks face. "You told her? Without me?"

"Mark. It's my fault" Callie tries to explain, I couldn't take her bouncing around about first grade any more. It's my fault."

"You're damn right it is." he nods. "Were supposed to be a team Callie."

"_Hey._" Arizona comes to her wife's defense. We _are_ a team, but sometimes things don't go how we want them to. Mark, I'm sorry you're upset, I know you wanted to be here when we broke the news. But it doesn't change the outcome. We have a _crushed_ kid upstairs, and you're here now. So you can either be pissed at us, or you can go up and try to console your daughter. What's it gonna be?"

He opens his mouth to say something, and instead, shakes his head, and turns to go up to Sofia's room.

"That was...kind of awesome." Callie says quietly.

"I know."

* * *

><p>"Sofia?" Mark lightly taps on her door before poking his head in. "it's Daddy."<p>

Sofia turns over, her face is red and splotchy from crying.

"hey hey hey! no tears for my girl!" He sits on the edge of the bed.

"I'm dumb daddy. I'm dumb and I'm not smart and thats why I can't go to first grade!" Sofia sobs.

"Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres. You stop that kind of talk. Right now." Mark says firmly. You are _not_ dumb.

"Then why can't I go?"

"Just because you're not ready doesn't make you dumb sweetheart. You're the smartest girl in the world. But sometimes, we just have to wait for the stuff that we really want, until we're really, really ready for it." He pulls her into his lap.

"Do you want to know a secret Sofia? I haven't told anybody this. So promise you'll keep it secret, okay?"

Sofia wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "Okay Daddy."

"Do you know who had to do Kindergarten over again?"

"Who?"

He silently points to himself.

"You_ did_?"

He nods. "Yep. And look at me now, I'm an awesome doctor with an _awesome_ kid who, by the way, is about to have an awesome time at Disneyland with her awesome daddy and Lexie and her big sister."

Sofia smiles a little thinking about Disneyland.

She sighs. "I don't want to talk about school anymore, okay Daddy?"

"Deal."

She hops off his lap. "We should go back downstairs. I wasn't very nice at the dinner table." She says quietly.

Mark hoists Sofia into his arms, and they make their way back downstairs.

"Everyone okay?" Callie asks as Sofia crawls into her lap in the living room.

Mark nods. "Sofia has requested that we just...not talk about school for a while. Not til we have to, right Sof?"

Sofia nods silently.

"Hey Sof? I need to talk to Daddy for a sec, do you want to see if Corrina will share mama's lap with you for a second?"

Sofia snuggles up to Arizona as she opens a book, and Callie follows Mark on to the porch.

"Is she really okay?"

He nods. "For now. Listen, I'm sorry I blew up."

Callie shakes her head. "Let's forget it. The important thing is, you were here to be the hero after we kind of crushed her. At least you got to miss that part."

He thinks for a moment. "Yeah I guess you're right."

"How did you get her to come around?"

He smiles. "I told her_ I_ had to do kindergarten over."

Callie looks at him curiously. "You never told me that before. I had no idea!"

Mark smiles. "Let's just say I'd say anything to make my kid feel better."


	14. Chapter 14

"Sweetheart, stop fidgeting!" Callie whispers as Sofia poses for photos on the morning of April's wedding ceremony.

"_Mommy _my tights itch!" she whines.

"I promise, as soon as the ceremony is over, you can take them off." Callie adjusts the wreath in Sofia's hair with an extra hair pin.

"Alright, Corrina is in the church nursery with the babysitter, I'm ready for pictures!"Arizona smiles as she joins her family. April had surprised both Callie and Arizona by asking them to stand up at her wedding as well, only a few short weeks after asking Sofia to be her flower girl.

"Alright! Let's do this!"Callie turns for a moment. "Where's Sofia, where'd she go? she was just here a second ago."

"I'm down here Mommy!" Callie is mortified to see her daughter laying on the floor of the church lobby. "Itchy, itchy i_tchy!_" she whines.

"Sofia! _Get up_! you're going to ruin your hair and your pretty dress!" Callie hisses, desperately trying not to laugh as she pulls Sofia off the ground.

"Sorry Mommy."

"Alright we're ready for you guys to get a few photos with the bride." The photographers assistant motions to the gazebo, where April is sitting. Callie and Arizona both gasp at how beautiful she looks in her strapless gown, with her hair fixed in a beautiful half up style. Her beautifully embroidered veil hangs perfectly down her back, resting on the soft chestnut curls that brush past her shoulders. She is a beautiful bride indeed.

"Go right on up! Let us place you, all you have to do is smile!"

"Auntie April, you look like a Disney Princess!" Sofia squeals with delight as the photographer assembles them, Meredith, and April's three beautiful sisters, Libby, Kimmie and Alice.

"Thank you sweet girl. You look like a princess too!" April blows her a kiss before they begin taking photos.

Finally, the ceremony is ready to begin. Callie turns to Sofia one final time. "Remember, when you get to the end of the aisle, You're going to go sit with who?

"Daddy and Lexie. They're going to be right there waiting for me." Sofia nods. "Mommy. I _know._"

Callie smiles "I'm just making sure. Okay, Sofia. I'll see you down there, It's Mama's and my turn to go."

Sofia nods, suddenly feeling the butterflies begin fluttering in her tummy.

"Psst! _Sofia_!" April taps her on the back as she watches her moms and Auntie Meredith begin to walk ahead of her.

Sofia dares to turn around, and giggles at the funny face Auntie April makes at her.

"Happy wedding day Auntie April." she whispers.

April winks and then motions that it's time for her to walk down the aisle.

"_Right together... left together. Don't forget to toss the petals." _she thinks to herself.

She gulps, and slowly, carefully, does her job, sprinkling a few petals at a time, and even daring to smile at the people in the church. She can see both of her moms, her uncle Derek, and her silly Uncle Matt, and April's nephew Ben, who got to carry the ring, standing up waiting for her to reach the end of the aisle. She can see her Mommy is crying a little, and wonders why people cry when nothing bad is happening, it's not like she fell off her bike, or her sister ate the last cookie when she called dibs on it. Grown ups, she had long ago decided, were just plain _weird._

Finally, She reaches the end of the aisle, and her Daddy holds out his hand, and helps her into the pew between him and Lexie.

"You did great Sofia!" She kisses the top of her head, and Sofia wonders if maybe she'll get to do this again someday at her Daddy's wedding. Lexie was nice, and she smelled good, and had gone on every single ride with her at Disneyland. Plus, she made her Daddy really happy.

Sofia listens intently to the service, mesmerized by how beautiful her Auntie April looks standing up there. Sofia can tell she's crying a little too.

"Dearly Beloved, We're gathered here today, to witness the union of these two souls. April, and Matthew, in holy matrimony. The minister begins. Sofia has a hard time concentrating on everything the minister is saying but she listens carefully as Auntie April clears her voice to speak.

"_Matt. Before you, I don't really think I had ever been loved before you came along. _She begins._ And then we met, and I just knew. I knew it from the moment I saw you, that we would be together for the rest of our lives. Matthew Adam Chase, I love you, I promise to be your loving partner, to hold you up when you're falling down, and to love you in hard times and in good times, in sickness and in health, til death parts us. This is my solemn vow._

Matt wipes his eyes, and turns to the congregation "Wow. That's a tough act to follow!" he chokes out, causing the whole church to laugh gently, before he takes April's hands in his.

"_April. Before you, I was broken. I didn't even know how broken I was, until you came along, and your sweetness, and your kindness, and your effortless love just, healed me in every way possible. I fell in love with you the minute I laid eyes on you April. And I fall in love with you more and more every day. I promise to honor the woman that you are, and cherish your spirit, and your soul until the day I die. This is my solemn vow._

"And the rings?" The minister looks toward Ben, who steps forward.

"April, repeat after me. "With this ring. I thee wed."

April takes Matt's wedding band. "_With this ring... I thee wed._" she whispers, letting a few more tears escape down her cheeks.

"Matthew, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed"

Matt clears his voice. "_With this ring, I... thee... wed._"

"By the power vested in me by the state of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The minister smiles. "You may kiss your bride!"

April and Matt share a sweet kiss, and Mark prods Sofia to get ready to walk back down the aisle. "Go on cute stuff." He whispers. Sofia suddenly lights up, and marches back down the aisle in front of April and Matt.

"Wait, what's she doing?" Callie's eyes widen as she watches her daughter take a left turn behind the pews as she reaches the top of the aisle. She fights back her laughter as she realizes exactly what her child is doing, and her suspicion is confirmed as she reaches the end of the aisle herself. Sofia is grinning widely, shoes in one hand, tights in the other.

"Much m_uch_ better." she says with a happy grin, handing Callie her tights, and skipping off to go give the new bride and groom her hugs and kisses.


	15. Chapter 15

"Sofia, It says here that you need to bring in something special from home to share with your class tomorrow!" Callie looks up from the navy folder full of parent information from Sofia's brand new school. "How cool is that? First day of school and you get to do show and tell!"

Sofia raises her head. "I don't wanna bring in anything." she says flatly.

"_Sofia._"

"I don't want to talk about _stupid_ school." Sofia crosses her arms and stomps out of the kitchen.

Callie sighs with frustration. Sofia's refusal to talk about school had been going on for the entire summer. She sulked around the house, grumbling most of the time about how unfair it was that she was having to do Kindergarten again. The only bright spot in the summer for her (aside from Disneyland) had been standing up at April and Matt's wedding. She talked about it every day for the entire month of August.

And just like that, Callie gets an idea that might just snap Sofia out of her funk.

"I think I know what you should bring tomorrow Sofia." Callie pops her head into the playroom.

"what?" Sofia doesn't bother to look up from the scratch and sniff sticker book her dad had gotten her.

"Flower girl dress." Callie grins watching Sofia's head snap up immediately.

"Can I wear it to school?" she raises an eyebrow.

Callie shrugs. "You wear it every day anyway, why not?"

Sofia suddenly lights up. "I bet no one else will have that for show and tell!"

* * *

><p>"Hey newlywed!" Arizona throws her arms around April, welcome back! How was Fiji?"<p>

"Oh my God! It was _incredible!_ We had a blast. It's good to be home though."

April smiles. "How are my girls? Is Sofia any closer to warming up to the new school?"

Arizona huffs. "No. We took her on a tour, she was stone silent the entire time. I mean, you've met my child, she makes conversation with inanimate objects, regularly. It was insane. We met her aide, Tessa, she wouldn't even look at her. I'm worried tomorrow's going to be a disaster."

"Worry no more! Callie comes up behind her wife. Guess who is officially excited for her first day of school tomorrow?"

Arizona's jaw drops. "What! How? Callie, please tell me she won't be eating a side of chocolate cake with every meal til she graduates from high school."

Callie laughs. "No. She has to bring in show and tell tomorrow. She grins proudly. "Guess who's wearing her flower girl dress tomorrow!"

"Brilliance!" Arizona kisses Callie's cheek.

"Stop! She is not!" April exclaims.

"She totally is." Callie nods. you should come by the school tomorrow morning, April, Sofia will freak if you stop in, we're allowed to stay for the first bit of the morning."

"Are you sure it wont crowd you guys? April hesitates for a moment.

"_Please._" Arizona rolls her eyes. "You outrank the three of us any day of the week. She worships the ground you walk on. Plus, she's missed you terribly the past 2 weeks." you should come. Her school isn't far from here, it's at 1700 Union Street, at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Be there or be square, lady!"

Okay! I'll be there! April agrees.

* * *

><p>"Wow Sofia look at this classroom!" Arizona kneels down next to her. "Check out those easels and the dress up corner, this is awesome!"<p>

Sofia nervously clings to her shoulder blade and shakes her head. "I don't like it. I want to go home." her chin quivers as she looks up at Callie.

"it's okay Sofia. You're alright." Callie reminds her. "Right Daddy?"

Mark kneels down on her other side. "Totally. Sofia check out the sand table!" He points to a corner of the classroom as Sofia nervously chews her bottom lip."

"I like your dress!" a small voice pipes up behind Sofia.

Sofia turns her head. A tiny girl with a face full of freckles, and long strawberry blonde hair smiles shyly at her. "I'm Emma."

Sofia glances timidly up at her parents.

"it's okay," Callie encourages. "Tell her your name honey!"

"Sofia." she faintly whispers.

Emma smiles brightly. "Do you wanna play in the kitchen with me?"

Sofia thinks for a moment, and finally nods, taking Emma's hand.

All three parents exhale in relief.

"Oh thank God, Emma made a friend!" the voice of Emma's father is steeped in his own relief.

"She's ours, that's Sofia." Arizona extends her hand, I'm Arizona, this is my wife Callie, and this is Sofia's dad, Mark."

I"m Kara, this is my husband, Ryan." She smiles."We were so worried Emma wouldn't find a friend". Kara lowers her voice. "She's doing kindergarten over. Brand new school, it's been a rough few months for us. The only way we got her here today was by promising a new bike."

Callie smiles kindly and leans into Kara "Sofia too." she whispers.

The five of them stand in camaraderie as they watch their daughters play.

Just as show and tell is about to begin, April arrives, joining the group. "I didn't miss it did I?"

Callie shakes her head. "No, they just got the kids sitting down. She's going to try and go first."

"April! She made a friend!" Arizona hisses, and they quietly exchange a high five.

"okay Sofia! I see your hand, would you like to be the first to show us what you brought in today?" Her teacher, Miss Annie smiles as she stands up. "Wow! Look at that dress!"

Sofia marches to the front of her classroom, and her eyes suddenly go saucer wide when they land directly on April standing in the back.

"My Auntie April is here!" she announces, weaving back between the children on the carpet, and directly into April's arms.

"you didn't tell me you were coming!"

"I wanted to surprise you!"

"Sofia!" Annie calls out, "Why don't you bring your special visitor up here so the class can meet her!"

Sofia proudly leads her up to the front of the kindergarten classroom.

"_This,_ she grins up at April, is my Auntie April. This summer, I was the flower girl in her wedding, and I wore this dress!" she smiles widely.

"Good to know she didn't inherit your fear of public speaking." Arizona whispers. "I think she might just be okay."

Callie laughs under her breath, never taking her eyes away from her daughter for a second. "I think you might be right." She murmurs back to Arizona, squeezing her hand for all it's worth.

* * *

><p>"Alright Corrina!" Callie turns to look at her in her car seat as they wait for Sofia to be released from school later that afternoon. Let's hope Sofia had a great day! "<em>Please.. please let it have been a good day<em>." she prays.

Corrina smiles. "Hi Mommy!" she giggles.

"_Hi_ sunshine!"

"Hi mommy!" she reaches for Callie's hands, and frowns when the car seat straps restrain her from getting very far. "Too tight!" she complains.

Callie chuckles. "Sorry kid."

Corrina sighs, and sits back in her car seat, and takes to playing with her shoe laces, singing softly to herself. Callie shakes her head, listening to the little ray of sunshine amuse herself.

"Oh! Here comes Sofia!" Callie hops out of the car to wave her and Miss Tessa over.

"Mommy!" Sofia's face lights up as Tessa brings her to the car.

"How was the rest of your day?" Callie scoops her up. "I see we opted to switch into comfy clothes huh? Where's your dress?"

"It's packed up in her backpack." Tessa smiles. "Sofia had a great first day!"

"_Mommy_." Sofia says seriously, as Callie helps her into the car. "Guess what happened today?"

Callie's heart is practically bursting. "Tell me." she presses her forehead against Sofia's, causing her to giggle. "When it was time for Miss Tessa and I to have work time, guess who else came with us?"

"I have no idea Sof. Tell me who."

"_Emma!_ She's my new best friend Mommy. We get to go, and work with Miss Tessa at the end of the day, and then we have a snack. Tomorrow I'm going to show Emma how to chinese jump rope. Remember when Ella taught me how to do that and I fell and bumped my chin? That was a long time ago, I'm super good at it now. Mommy, can we stop and buy a chinese jump rope? Also, next Friday I'm supposed to bring in snack. I said we would bring in scrambled eggs for everybody. Sofia giggles. "Cause they're my favorite."

Callie laughs. "Alrighty then. We'll talk about that next week." She winks at Sofia from the rearview. "I'm very glad you like your new school Sofia."

"Me too Mommy."


	16. Chapter 16

"Sofia Robbin! You're going to be late for school!" Arizona yells from the bottom of the stairs. "Hurry your behind up! _ No_ one in the 4th grade needs that much lip gloss!" she quickly adds.

Usually, Sofia responds with a witty comeback. Arizona is slightly irritated that her older daughter has not bothered to respond to her at all.

She charges up the stairs. "Sofia, Your mom already left for the hospital and I need to get you and Corrina to school, come on, You need to come downstairs."

Sofia slowly emerges from the bathroom, white as a sheet, her hair slick with sweat. Arizona can immediately tell she has not been applying lip gloss in the mirror this whole time. Far from it.

"Sofia, baby, whats the matter?"

"I got sick. I threw up two times."

Arizona puts her hand on Sofia's forehead and curses under her breath. "Fever. Okay, back to bed with you, right now. march."

But Sofia makes no attempt to move. "It hurts to breathe." She finally whimpers, allowing Arizona to help her back to her room, and help her lie back down on her bed. "Sofia, tell me what hurts okay?"

"My belly. Right here." She points to her lower right side. Instantly, Arizona knows what she's dealing with. She nods quietly, checking her belly, and wincing as Sofia cries out in pain when she checks her lower right side, confirming her first suspicion.

"Alright. Sweetheart, you're going to be fine. Just, stay here in bed. I promise I'll be right back up. Okay? You're going to be just fine."

Arizona kisses her sweaty, pale face, and calmly as she can, returns to the kitchen.

"Corrina, sweetheart?" she plasters on a smile, "Sofia's not feeling very well right now, so I'm going to call Mrs Mattheson, and see if you can get a ride with Jada and Thomas over to school, okay?"

Corrina grins as she shovels in her cereal. "Okay Mama."

Arizona breathes a sigh of relief when her next door neighbor answers the phone, and quickly packs up Corrina for the day, and sends her next door.

"Mama I need you!" Sofia can be heard from her room upstairs, just as Callie answers her cell phone.

"What's up? I'm just about to head into surgery."

"Callie, I'm bringing Sofia in. She's got an appendicitis" Arizona says quietly.

A few moments later, Arizona returns to Sofia's bedroom. Sofia is curled in a ball on the far side of her bed. Arizona is immediately brought back to the nights when she used to sneak in and check on their sleeping baby, and find her squashed in the corner of her crib. Seeing Sofia like this was like no other pain she'd ever felt. Frankly, it sucked.

She takes a deep breath, and rubs her back softly. "Sof? Sweetie, we need to get you in the car."

"Why? Where are we going?" Sofia moans.

"We need to get you to the hospital." Arizona explains.

"Mama no!" Sofia turns over slowly shakes her head. I dont want you to take me to the hospital! I feel better already! I promise! I can't be sick! I have plans tonight! Aunt April is coming to take me to the Sound Of Music singalong. We've had tickets for weeks! I'm fine! I'm not sick!" She struggles to sit up, and Arizona inwardly panics as she watches her 10 year old nearly black out from the intense pain radiating through her belly.

She shakes her head sadly. "No baby girl. You're sick. We need to get you better. That's why we need to go visit the hospital."

Sofias eyes fill with tears. "what's wrong with me?" she asks with the tears spilling over on to her cheeks.

Arizona strokes her hair. You have a _very_ angry appendix that needs to come out. It's a teeny, tiny operation that's super easy. She can see the panic in her eyes immediately at the idea of having surgery.

"Listen for a second." She quiets Sofia with a single raise of her brow. "Listen to me. You are going to be just fine Sofia. _Okay_?

Sofia nods."Okay."

"Good girl. Okay, let's get you over to the hospital." in one felt swoop, she scoops up her daughter and carries her to the car.

* * *

><p>"Where is she? She should be here by now." Callie anxiously stands outside by the ambulance bay waiting for Arizona to arrive.<p>

"She"ll be okay Callie. We see appys every day, she's going to be fine." Mark grabs her elbow.

"_Stop!_ Stop telling me that, for all we know its already ruptured. She could be septic, a thousand things could go wrong in the o.r." Callie snaps.

Mark silently backs off. "okay. I'm sorry. I know you're scared."

"Shes our baby. And now she's sick. Mark I can't handle it if something goes wrong." she wipes her eyes on his lab coat.

"Look at me." he squares her by the shoulders. "She needs us to not freak out when she gets here. So we both need to shut it down, and tell her that everything is fine. Got it?"

Callie nods silently.

"She's here." Mark motions behind her.

Arizona jumps out of her car a moment later. "Mark get a wheelchair!"

"Sofia!" Callie steadies her voice as Arizona opens the back seat.

_"Mommy!"_

"Callie, let Mark lift her." Arizona says behind her.

Mark returns with the wheelchair and gently lifts Sofia out of the car."There we go. Nice and easy." he whispers, lowering her into the chair.

Arizona looks around."I need to go park the car... I'll be inside in a second. Sof? Hang in there, I'll be right back."

Sofia grabs Callie's hand as Mark wheels her into the e.r.

"Mommy!"

"Sofia honey, I'm right here, Mommy is right here."

"I don't feel well. And I puked in mama's car on the way. She whispers.

"That's okay. Listen, you're going to be just fine, okay?"

Sofia nods and squeezes her eyes shut tightly as mark moves her to a gurney. "Who's on call for peds? Let's get them down here." he instructs one of the nurses.

* * *

><p>"Ugh!" April fumes as her pager sounds from the bathroom counter. Timing was really, truly everything. Getting to pee in public restrooms was hard enough. Throw in a pregnancy test and work pressure and she may as well have been trying to get water from a stone.<p>

Matt hovers by the ladies room door.

"Survey says?"

April shakes her head. I couldn't do it . I got a 911 page from the E.R."

Matt kisses her forehead. "You'll try again later."

April hurries down to the e.r and smiles at the unit secretary. "I got a page?"

"Exam 2, Dr. Kepner."

April grabs the chart and does a double take. "wait, Sofia? Sofia _Torres_?"

She hurries into the exam room, and can feel her heart breaking immediately. Sofia was curled up a ball on the gurney, with Callie and Mark at her sides.

"Callie?"

"April, you're the on call attending? Arizona enters the room behind her.

"Auntie April? Sofia opens her eyes suddenly, and attempts to sit up before Mark gently stops her.

"Sweetie I'm right here. She moves to the side of the gurney next to Mark and strokes Sofia's cheek. "It's going to be alright baby. I know you're scared, but I promise, you're going to feel better as soon as that appendix comes out. Okay? We're going to fix you right up."

She turns to Callie, Arizona and Mark, "can we talk for a minute outside?"

She closes the door to the exam room, and faces the three of them.

" I can't operate on her." she says shaking her head.

"Can't, or Won't?" Mark asks.

"Can't _and_ Wont Mark." April says matter of factly. "Look, I'm too attached, I love Sofia like she's my own. I...I can't go in there and be objective. Not with her."

Callie nods, "Okay. Okay, I get it. I understand. We'll page someone else."

"No need to do that." A familiar voice speaks up behind Callie.

"Miranda, will you do the surgery?" Callie hugs her tightly.

"Of course I will. I'll take good care of her." Bailey promises.

"I'm going in with her." Arizona suddenly declares.

"the hell you are Arizona Robbins."Bailey says. "Need I remind you what happened the last time you went with your daughter into the o.r.?"

Arizona doesn't need to be reminded of that. She needs absolutley no reminder of the terror that tore through her when Sofia nearly bled out during heart surgery. How sure she was that Sofia was going to die on the table that day.

"I'll go." April quietly steps forward.

" Kepner, are you sure you can handle it?" Bailey eyes her seriously.

April nods. "as long as Callie and Arizona and Mark are okay with it. I'll sit with her. By her head. I'll go."

"If we can't be in there with her" Callie says tearfully, then yes. By all means, I want April to go in with her."

"is this okay by you two?" Miranda asks.

Both Mark and Arizona nod simultaneously.

"Alright Kepner. Go scrub in. But hear this, if you so much as breathe wrong, I will send you out of the O.R. So fast it'll make your head spin. This is precious cargo I'm operating on, I don't care how routine the procedure. I won't be distracted. Got it?"

April nods. "I understand."

Callie sighs and looks towards Sofia's room. "I'll go tell her what's going on."

"She needs to be prepped, we're rolling in an hour. I want that appendix _out_" Bailey says firmly. "And you three?" she turns to Callie, Arizona and Mark one final time before walking away.

All three of them brace themselves for more Baileyesque intructions.

"She will be _fine_." Miranda says, her tough exterior softening for a moment. "I promise you. I will take the best care of that baby girl that I possibly can.


	17. Chapter 17

"Okay sweetie." Callie picks up Sofia's hand standing by her bed. "We're going to get you all ready for surgery. You're gonna go to sleep for a little while, and when you wake up, it'll be all over."

Sofia shakes her head. "I don't want to. I'm scared."

"I know." Callie presses her lips to Sofia's forehead. But guess what? You, my sweet girl, are so, so lucky. Do you know why?

Sofia shakes her head. "No."

"You have someone very, very special who is going to be in the operating room with you Sofia. And her only job, her only only only job is to sit with you, and make sure you're okay. Guess who it is?"

"I don't know." a couple of tears escape out of the corner of Sofia's eyes.

"Auntie April." Callie smiles. Hhow does that sound?"

"It sounds good." Sofia nods weakly. "Where is she?"

"She's getting all ready for you, right now. She's gonna be up here pretty soon, and Mama, and Daddy and I are all going to go with you down to the operating room, and then she'll go in with you, and we'll be waiting for you when you wake up! Okay?"

Sofia nods again. "Okay mommy."

"That's my girl."

Soon enough, Sofia is prepped, and ready for her trip to the O.R. She grips Callie and Mark's hands as the gurney makes it's way to the double doors.

"Okay guys." April says softly, "This is where we say "See you in a little while!"

Arizona kisses Sofia softly. "I love you baby. You're going to do great. Okay?"

"Okay Mama."

Mark smiles. "Be brave okay? You've got this." He leans in and eskimo kisses her.

Callie wipes the tears from her eyes, and kisses Sofia on both cheeks. "Mommy loves you. And I'll see you when you open your eyes after it's over, okay Sofia?"

Sofia swallows the lump in her throat. "I love you too Mommy."

"Alright, here we go!" April quickly wipes Sofia's eyes for her.

"April?" Callie calls after her before the double doors close.

"Yeah?"

"Look out for her, okay?"

April smiles, and nods. "I've never stopped looking out for her Callie."

* * *

><p>"Sofia Robbin!". Dr Bailey smiles through her mask. If you wanted an excuse to see me, you didn't have to go and wind up on my table! You could have just asked your mom. She sees Sofia smile a little, and nods towards the anesthesiologist.<p>

"Okay sweetheart" April explains. "We're gonna help you go to sleep now, just relax, and take a few deep breaths."

"Where will you be?" Sofia asks again.

"Right here next to you." April reminds her.

"Okay. I'm ready." Sofia says.

Within a couple of minutes, Sofia is under, and the surgery begins.

45 minutes later, April returns to the waiting room, and removes her scrub cap. Callie, Arizona and Mark stand up nervously as she walks over.

"She did amazing." April grins. "Everything is fine. She did great"

"Oh thank God!" Callie breathes, hugging her, Arizona and Mark tightly. "She's okay. She's alright."

"When can we see her?" Arizona asks.

"Come on back. You guys can wait with her in PACU."

* * *

><p>"Hey you." Matt kisses April's forehead that afternoon as she sits by Sofia's bed."How's the patient feeling? I heard she came through with flying colors today in surgery."<p>

April nods. "She did. She absolutley did."

"Where are Callie and Arizona and Mark?"

"They went home to see Corrina, and tell her what happened. Mark ran home to change his clothes. He should be back pretty soon."

"Are you okay?"

April sighs. "I was just thinking back to the last time Sofia was a patient here in the hospital." she says quietly.

"When she was born?"

"Yep."

April smooths Sofia's dark hair. "She was so...impossibly small when she was born, Matt. I was there, in the O. R., and I've seen a lot of babies, and she was so small, it terrified me."

"I'm sure."

"I wasn't even that close with Callie, or Mark or Arizona back then. Back then, I was just... a resident, who happened to be assigned to the NICU, and it was terrifying. I even considered asking to be placed on another rotation.

"What made you change your mind?"

April shrugs. "The more time I spent with her, the more I stopped wishing for another rotation. And then, about a week after she was born, Matt, she opened her eyes. And looked at me. And I... fell in love. Right there. With this tiny, sick little girl who had so much fight in her, I was almost jealous. To be born with the odds stacked against you, and fight like hell, she inspired me, if this tiny person could fight that hard, what the hell was I doing thinking I could walk away, and try to find something that maybe wouldn't hurt as much?"

"So you decided to stay." Matt smiles. "And be her guardian angel. And you've never stopped since."

"It was terrifying. I can't imagine how it felt as one of her parents Matt, and I hope I never have to walk in those shoes, but as one of her doctors?

"It was just as terrifying." He finishes.

"I was charged with keeping her alive. Helping her breathe, pumping her full of medicine day after day. A 23 week preemie with a brain bleed and a heart defect. My one job was to do whatever I could to keep her alive. I've never been more terrified of losing a patient in my life."

"It's cause she was never just a patient." Matt says gently, wrapping his arms around his wife. "I need to go, but I will see you at home, a little later?"

April nods as he softly kisses her forehead.

Sofia stirs a moment later and opens her eyes. " Where's Mommy?" she mumbles.

April strokes Sofia's forehead. "Mommy's on her way back sweetheart."

She blinks sleepily. "Hi."

"Hi you... how do you feel?"

Sofia gives her a thumbs down. "I want my mommy."

"I know you do." April smooths her hair. "Are you thirsty at all Sof? How about a few ice chips?"

Sofia shakes her head. "Just Mommy." she whimpers.

"I know baby. I know, I'm going to sit with you right up until she comes back, okay?"

Sofia nods. "Where did they go?"

"Your Daddy went home to change, so he should be back pretty soon, and your moms went to go make sure Corrina is okay."

"She's gonna be scared." Sofia says quietly. "She doesn't like when I'm not home. Sometimes she sneaks into the extra bed in my room."

"I used to do that with my sisters too."

"Can we still go to the movies sometime soon, when I'm all better?" Sofia asks.

"Of course we can."

"I'm bummed we can't go tomorrow. I really wanted to go." sofia says.

April smooths her hair. "Maybe... we can bring the movies to us! Chances are, you'll be home tomorrow night. I can bring the Sound Of Music to you. So we don't miss our plans."

Sofia weakly smiles. "And then Corrina can be there too. She'll be so happy, sometimes, I think she wishes she could come with us."

April kisses her forehead. "You are a wonderful, _wonderful_ big sister Sofia."

* * *

><p>"I... am so... tired." April groans as she collapses onto the bed next to Matt that night. "Even my hair... is tired." she leans in for a kiss, and rests her head in his lap. "Sofia's doing great, they're going to let her go home early tomorrow."<p>

"That's _awesome._" Matt runs his fingers through her hair. "So, we have some unfinished business to take care of from earlier, lovely wife of mine, he reminds her.

"Oh! Oh my gosh of course, I need to take the pregnancy test!" she sits up. "I don't think we have one in the bathroom though."

"I stopped at the store and picked you up a new one." Matt hands April the drugstore bag, and she dissapears into the bathroom.

"Please. Please. _Please._" she silently prays. This is not the first time she's been in this position.. Matt and April had been wanting to start a family for a few months now, And for some reason pregnancy was not coming easy for her.

She emerges from the bathroom a few moments later, sad and dissappointed as she holds out the negative pregnancy test for Matt to read.

"Not this time" she sighs, crawling into bed. "I'm sorry baby. Maybe next month."


	18. Chapter 18

**Authors Note: If you'd like to see what Sofia and Corrina look like now that they're a little older, send me a PM :) enjoy and thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p>"Okay, where do you want the package?" Mark holds Sofia in his arms as they walk into the house the next morning.<p>

"We have the playroom sofa bed all set up for you, no climbing the stairs til next week." Callie reminds her. "Corrina Grace! Sissy is home!" she calls upstairs.

"Sofia Sofia Sofia _Sofia!_" Corrina's blonde ponytail flies behind her as she screeches into the front foyer of the house.

"Hiya sissy!" Sofia smiles.

"I missed you!" Corrina stands on her tiptoes to kiss Sofia's cheek.

"Okay, let's get you settled in." Mark carries her to the playroom.

"Alright Sofia! We've got the TV, the DVD player, all your favorite movies, some new books to read, I think you're all set!" Arizona pulls back the covers on the sofa bed, let's get you snuggled in."

"I need Walter." Sofia looks around. "He's in my bag."

"Walter?" who is that? Corrina asks.

Sofia unzips her hospital overnight bag and pulls out a hilarious stuffed chicken.

"Who did you get him from?" Corrina reaches out to pet the plush fur.

"Auntie Cristina got him for me." she kisses his beak. We named him Walter."

"I think that's a perfect name." Mark leans in and kisses the top of Sofia's head. "I gotta get going, but I'm going to call you tonight, okay Sofia?"

Sofia nods as he kisses her on the forehead one final time.

Arizona glances at the clock. "Okay miss Coco. It's time for you to go to school, and Sofia needs to rest."

Corrina pouts. "I want to stay here and take care of Sofia."

Sofia squeezes her hand. "When you get home from school you can play nurse."

Corrina's face lights up.

"Also?" Sofia adds. "Auntie April is coming over tonight."

"That means I can't play, when she gets here right?" Corrina's smile fades a little.

"No! You can hang out with us tonight!" Sofia smiles. "But first you need to go to school."

Corrina's jaw drops. "I get to stay? You never let me stay. Is this a trick?"

No! Now go to school. Before I change my mind." Sofia says.

Corrina, jaw still agape, runs out of the room. "Shoes! Backpack! Lunchbox! I gotta go to school so I can get home!" she cries out.

Callie laughs, I need to get her to school and then off to work for me too. Sofia? Listen to mama today okay? I'll be home later tonight. I want you to rest, and watch a lot of TV and drink a lot of water, alright? she leans in and kisses her forehead."I'll see you and mama later gator."

Arizona turns to Sofia once Callie and Corrina have left. "Alright you. It's been an exciting morning, but I want you to nap. Okay?" Arizona tucks the covers around her and draws the shade.

"I haven't put you down for a nap in ages." she chuckles. "When you were little, you used to stand in your crib and cry and cry when it was nap time."

Sofia yawns, "I wonder why I did that."

Arizona shrugs. I think it's probably because you were worried you'd miss something."

"Probably." Sofia's eyelids begin to droop and Arizona stands up to leave.

"Mama?" Sofia sleepily reaches for her hand.

"Hm?"

"Will you stay with me? For a little while?"

Arizona brushes the hair out of Sofia's eyes, and sits back down, a lump forming in her throat.

"I'm not going anywhere sweet girl."

* * *

><p>"Anyone home?" April softly closes the front door to Callie and Arizona's that evening.<p>

"Were in here!Arizona calls back.

"Auntie April! I get to watch the movie tonight with you guys! Sofia said I could stay and were gonna eat jello pudding pops!" Corrina gleefully attaches herself to April's legs as she walks into the kitchen.

"That's _awesome_ Coco!" April ruffles her hair.

Arizona raises her eyebrow. "She can stay and watch the movie if and only if she eats her dinner. That's the rule, remember?"

"Yes mama."

"where's Sofia?" April looks around.

"She's in the playroom with Miss Tessa, they're doing a little bit of reading so Sofia doesn't miss any of "_Little House In The Big Woods_" when she gets back to school, Arizona explains. Tessa wanted to stop in and see her tonight, and Sofia suggested they stay caught up.

"Gone are the days where you used to have to bribe her to do her homework." April laughs. "I'm so glad she loves school."

"Tessa's been a miracle worker. My kid loves doing homework. _homework_!"

"is that Auntie April?" Sofia calls from the other room.

"Hi sweetie pie!" April calls back.

"Literally, all day shes been asking for you. _When_ is she gonna be here? What time is it? Do you think we should call her?" Arizona laughs as she hands Corrina a bowl of macaroni and cheese. "Go sit down and eat at the table please." she instructs her.

Corrina inches her way toward the table holding her bowl.

April chuckles and turns back to chat with Arizona.

"Oh! So, what's the news? Are you? Is there a bun?"

April shakes her head. Not this month, but, I'm trying to stay positive.

"I'm sorry April."

April shrugs. "It'll happen when it happens. It's only been a few months, so, we keep on keeping on."

"Atta girl. Maybe next month." Arizona nods.

"Okay! Tessa pokes her head out, We're all set! _"Little House"_ has been read, we even did a couple of math problems and April, she is all yours!"

Corrina scrapes the last of her Mac and cheese out of the bowl. "Me too me too! She chants, grabbing April's hand.

Sofia extends her arms as April walks in.

"There's my girl! April smiles. "Oh, and I see Walter is settling in nicely." she winks and hugs Sofia gently. "how's your belly?"

"Hurts a little but I'm okay." Sofia smiles. "Did you bring the movie?"

"Sure did."

"Corrina's never seen it." Sofia eyes her sister excitedly. "You're gonna _love_ it sissy."

Corrina grins. "I'll press play."

April kicks off her boots and snuggles next to Sofia. "are you glad to be home?"

Sofia nods happily and puts her other arm around her little sister when she curls up on Sofia's other side and lays her head on her shoulder.

By the time the Von Trapps' are hiking the alps, both girls have fallen asleep. April quietly extracts herself from Sofia's arms and turns off the TV.

"Hey! How did it go in there?" Callie smiles from the couch living room.

"Really, really well. I loved spending time with both of them." April says softly. "Corrina worships Sofia, and Sofia's so good with her."

"Yeah. You know, when she's not leaving bruises or pulling her little sisters hair or getting under her skin!" Callie laughs. "No. I know. Those two do love each other, it's true. When nobody is looking, they're each others best, _best_ friend."

"I hope my kids are half as awesome as those two one day."

Callie smiles. "They will be. Don't worry."


	19. Chapter 19

"What if I hate it?" Sofia asks, holding tightly to Callie's hand.

"You won't hate it. Arizona pats her shoulder. "Summer camp is _awesome_. You and Corrina are going to love it."

"What if I get homesick?"

Callie shakes her head. "You'll be having too much fun to stop and remember to be homesick. And your sister will be there, you can always find her." She glances at Corrina who is already off making new friends already at the camp bus pick up.

"Where's Auntie April? Sofia sighs, "she said shed be here to say goodbye."

"She'll be here Sofia. Just relax."

Corrina sprints back over to her family. "This is gonna be_ so _cool!" she announces. "I can't wait to get to camp. 3rd grade girls are gonna rule camp! Watch out Sofia. 5th grade girls don't stand a chance." Corrina dances around cheerfully.

"Oh look there's April!" Callie waves her over.

"Hey guys, sorry i ran a little behind." April kneels down and wraps her arms around both girls. "have so much fun at camp this summer okay guys? I want lots of letters telling me all the fun you're both having!"

Arizona and Callie hug both girls tightly once more. "Alright! Go get on that bus! 4 weeks is gonna fly!" Arizona excitedly points them in the direction of the camp bus.

Corrina grabs Sofia's hand. "Let's _go_ already Sofia! I want to get a window seat on the bus!"

Sofia nervously nods, and glances back at Callie and Arizona one final time. "okay. Im ready. Let's go."

"Look out for each other!" Callie calls as the girls board the bus.

Arizona high fives her wife. Kid free for _four_ weeks and Barcelona on Friday!"

Callie smiles with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Im going to miss them."

"They're going to have so much fun. I _loved_ camp. Arizona chuckles, "s'mores, camp songs, sneaking out of the bunk... April did you and your sisters go to camp?" She glances over at April who has been uncharacteristically quiet. "April? You okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I just can't shake this stomach flu." she grimaces. "It's why I was late this morning."

Arizona raises an eyebrow, "maybe it's not the stomach flu?"

April shakes her head, "I just took another pregnancy test on Tuesday. It was negative."

"Oh come_ on_ Kepner, you're a doctor for God's sake. You know how those can give you a false negative. Go see Addison. Find out for sure." Callie suggests.

"yeah I think I might." she nods.

* * *

><p>"No doubt about it April, Addison smiles. "You're pregnant! You're just about 5 weeks along! Congratulations!"<p>

April clamps a hand over her mouth, "You're sure, there's an actual little person growing inside me? Right now? This minute?"

"Yes ma'am! Do you want to see your baby?" Addison turns the ultrasound monitor towards her. "Everything looks great so far April."

April wipes her eyes, I can't wait to tell Matt. He gets back tonight from his fishing trip. I..I can't believe this!"

"Well just remember to take it easy, stay hydrated and rest whenever you can. Though... I know you and that advice is kind of fruitless but...try and rest."

April nods. "Thank you Addison. Thank you so, so much."

"here, take this with you before you go!" Addison smiles as the sonogram prints. "First baby pictures!"

* * *

><p>The wait for Matt to get home from his trip that night turns out to be excruciating. April finally busies herself after eating dinner with online browsing for baby clothes. Finally, just as she is about to begin losing her mind, she hears Matt's key in the door.<p>

"Hon? I'm home! We're going to be eating fish for the rest of our lives!" he calls out, walking into the house."Don't worry, I left it on the porch for now." He quickly adds.

Immediately, April begins to shake with excitement as he joins her in the living room.

"Hey you." Matt smiles

"Hi!"

"How was your weekend, did the girls get off to camp alright today, no sit in protests from Sofia, right?"

April nods, "Everything's good. Listen, I have something for you." she smiles. " It's a present,here, open this." She pulls out a flat package from the bottom shelf of the coffee table.

"You got me a present?" Matt kisses her. "I was gone for two days, you didn't need to get me a present! I didn't bring you back anything but smelly fish and dirty laundry. Now I feel bad."

April playfully smacks his forearm. "Don't feel bad. Just... open your present."

"Okay!" Matt tosses his backpack on the couch, and rips off the wrapping paper. " A picture frame?" he frowns a little in confusion.

"Turn it over." April bites her bottom lip trying not to burst.

Matt flips over the picture frame, and immediately his eyes widen as he stares at the framed sonogram photo in his hands.

"Wait... what is this?" He breathes. "is this for real?"

She nods, her eyes filling with tears. "It's true. That's our baby Matt. He or she is about 5 weeks along. That little peanut... that's _our_ baby! we _made_ that!"

"_April!_" He throws his arms around her. This is unreal! I can't believe this is finally happening! When did you find out?" He takes her face in his hands, unable to take his eyes off of her in that moment. To him, she's never, ever looked more beautiful, standing in their living room in her sweats and glasses, her hair piled on top of her head.

"Today, just this morning. I wanted to surprise you, when you got home tonight!"She wraps her arms around him tightly.

" _Matt_, It's real. It's actually happening." she whispers.

"I know, I know I know!" he wipes his eyes, and kisses her again. "We're going to have a baby."


	20. Chapter 20

"They're home from camp!" April hangs up her phone excitedly and jumps up from the couch, four weeks later.

Matt pokes his head out from the kitchen. "That's great! Did everyone have fun?"

April nods, "Callie says they haven't stopped talking about it from the moment they picked up the girls this morning."

"Are you headed over there?" Matt smiles. "I know you've missed them."

"Yep. We're going to go out and have some food, and I'm finally going to tell them about the baby!"

An hour later, April pulls into the driveway and laughs as she steps over the four giant duffel bags on the front porch that were clearly deemed too disgusting to be brought into the house.

"Hey!" Callie grins from the front door, "Come on in!"

"How is everyone doing?" April grins excitedly. "I missed them both so much! Their letters were pretty hilarious. She glances around. "I figured they'd be running around all amped up by the time I got here, where are they? It's way too quiet in this house!"

Callie motions towards the living room. Corrina's knocked out, she crashed as soon as we got her home. Callie whispers. I'm pretty sure she hasn't slept in 4 weeks." she chuckles quietly. "Sofia's in the back yard on the phone with one of her camp friends. She says she's "camp sick" already. She's been home for 4 hours!"

Sofia's face breaks into a grin as April steps out on to the back patio. "Auntie April!" She races into her arms, just as she did when she was five. "I missed you!"

"Did you have the best time at camp? I want to hear everything!" April nuzzles the top of Sofia's head.

"You got taller" she says softly. "You grew up over the summer Sofia."

Sofia smiles. "Corrina fell asleep on the couch. She's gonna be bummed she missed going out."

April smiles. "We'll let her sleep. Your mom said it seems she didn't do much of that these past four weeks."

Sofia shakes her head. "My little sister is like... a camp legend now. Everyone fell in love with her. Every time I saw her, she was doing something crazy and funny with her bunk. Most of the time the things they did were her idea. She smiles, "it was cool to see that part of my little sister."

"And _you_ Miss?"

Sofia sighs, and then smiles again. "I miss it already Aunt April. I can't wait to go back next year."

* * *

><p>"How did you find this place?" Sofia laughs as she and April consume massive sundaes at the kid friendly restaurant that she had been dying to take the girls to all summer. "It's awesome. I love that they have an ice cream sundae bar built out of an old bathtub."<p>

"I read about it in a magazine, It opened a few weeks ago and I couldn't wait to bring you here."

April smiles across the table from Sofia. "So. Before I hear all about camp, Sofia, I need to talk to you about something. I have some pretty exciting news to tell you!" She is beaming across the table.

"What? What is it?" Sofia lights up. "I love big news!"

"Well, in a few months, Uncle Matt and I are going to have a baby Sofia!"

The smile on Sofia's face dissapears almost immediately.

"Oh."

April is taken aback by Sofia's reaction."You're going to have a new little person to play with, aren't you excited?"

Sofia shrugs, "Yeah I guess so. Hey can I go put more stuff on my sundae? I'm low on Oreos.

"Oh...of course, go for it." April says quietly.

A few moments later, Sofia returns. "All filled up on Oreos, and I got some extra caramel sauce. I can't say no to this stuff." She sits back down and raises her eyebrows. "Round 2! here I come!"

April laces her fingers together, somewhat nervously as she watches Sofia across the table.

"So, what do you think about me having a baby Sofia? I mean, I'm pretty excited, it's going to be great, we can take the baby to the park and down to the pier...

Sofia digs her spoon into her ice cream and shrugs. "Whatever."

April shakes her head. "Alright. What gives Sofia? You _love_ babies, you had a chest full of dolls with names and paper birth certificates for each one when you were little. Give it up girlfriend. What's upsetting you?"

Sofia sets her spoon down on her napkin and looks pointedly at April for a second.

"You won't need me anymore." she finally says.

April blinks in confusion, "Say _what_?"

Sofia crosses her arms. "You'll have a kid of your own to take places and do stuff with, you won't need me."

"Sofia. That is absolutely _not _true." April stares into her dark eyes. "Frankly, my feelings are a little hurt that you think I'd actually just stop hanging out with you because I'm going to have a baby."

Sofias eyes widen. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." she says quietly.

April reaches for her hand. "Listen to me. You are my Sofia. My only Sofia in the whole world, we've known each other for ten years! I love our hang out time. And yes, things will be different when this baby comes, but Sofia, I'm always going to be here for you."

"You will?"

"Yes! And I'm counting on you to help me with this little peanut. They're going to need you."

"What does it need me for?"

"Uh, have you seen me attempt to play video games or kick a soccer goal from mid field like you can? And can we talk about your Uncle Matt being completely void of rhythm?"

"You do kind of suck at video games, it's true." Sofia nods, with the faintest hint of a smile. "And watching Uncle Matt try to dance is...well..."

"It's _painful_." April finishes. My point is, there are things you can teach this baby that his or her dad and I just can't Sofia. And for that matter, there are things I love doing with you that I can't do with the baby, like shopping for clothes, or going to those ridiculously bad movies like "High School Dance" that make you and your sister so happy, or having a water balloon fight on your front lawn." she says, trying desperately to get Sofia to crack a smile.

Finally, the grin that April is looking for spreads across Sofia's face. "Have you thought of names?" she asks quietly.

April breathes a sigh of relief. "Yes, we have a few picked out but Sofia, I don't want to talk about baby names right now you goof ball. I want to hear about camp! Spill! Tell me everything! We have plenty of time to talk about the baby. So go. Camp. Right now!"

Sofia's face lights up as she spends the next two hours laughing with her Aunt April and telling her everything there was to tell about her 4 weeks away at camp.

Later on as April walks with Sofia up to the house, Sofia turns to her and smiles. "You know what?"

"What?"

"You're gonna be a great Mom Auntie April. Do you know how I know?"

April's heart melts a little. "How?" She smiles.

"Cause of all the fun I have when I hang out with you. Because you don't mind going to stupid movies that make me and my sister happy, because it was _your_ idea to have that water balloon fight that day. Corrina and I are lucky that you're our aunt, and your baby is lucky that you and Uncle Matt are it's Mom and Dad."

April wraps her arms around the not so little girl. "Thank you Sofia." She whispers.

Arizona opens the front door and smiles at the two of them. "Everything okay?"

Sofia grins. "Everything's _great_ Mama." She runs inside, and up the stairs.

April glances at Arizona. "When did she get to be so grown up, Arizona?"

Arizona glances back towards the stairs, and shakes her head. "April. I have _no_ clue. I ask myself that every day."


	21. Chapter 21

**Authors Note: This chapter completes the story of "Lean On Me!" I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you reading, and hope you'll stay with me, as i continue to write other stories! Please feel free to leave reviews/comments, as I love reading them. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! xoxoxox!**

* * *

><p>It is just past 4:30 a.m. when April is startled awake by the cries of her brand new baby girl over the monitor placed on her nightstand.<p>

She yawns and sits up, and looks over at Matt, sound asleep on his stomach next to her. Leaning in, she kisses his bare shoulder blade, and gets out of bed to tiptoe down the hall to the baby's room.

"Oh my _goodness_ miss Abigail Reid." she murmurs, lifting her tiny newborn out of her bassinet. "You sure do enjoy your 4:30 meetings with mommy, don't you?"

She quickly changes Abby's diaper, and takes to softly walking around the quiet house with Abby over her shoulder in an effort to lull her baby girl back to sleep.

"Come on peanut, just try to relax." She whispers, rhythmically patting her on the back. "Trust me, you'll feel _so_ much better once you close your eyes." She slowly returns to the nursery and settles into the rocking chair to try nursing her daughter back to sleep. She breathes in the delicious newborn smell from the top of her head, as Abby immediately begins to calm down and nurse.

"_much_ better." April whispers softly, stroking Abby's cheek.

"how's our girl doing?" Matt yawns from the doorway.

April sighs. I'm sorry honey, did she wake you?"

Matt kisses both of his girls. "I'm due at the hospital at 6. My alarm just went off.

"We'll be there this afternoon, Abby has a check up later on today. Arizona offered to do it. Maybe we can grab a bite when she's finished?"

Matt smiles. "Just let me know when you're done."

April is relieved to see that her newborn has finally fallen back asleep. She rocks slowly with her for a bit longer, and then transfers her to the bassinet before shutting the door.

Matt is sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at his phone as she drags her exhausted body back into their bedroom.

"What's up?"

Matt turns to her. "Um, my Mom just called."

April is immediately alarmed. "What's wrong?"

April, my dad just had a heart attack."

April breathes hard, "Is he okay? What did your mom say honey?" She takes his shaking hands in hers.

"He's still alive, but he's critical." Matt says quietly. "I need to get to Baltimore. They're planning to operate tomorrow once he's more stable."

April nods. "Of course."

He stands up. "I hate leaving you with the baby all by yourself though."

"Matt. _Stop_." April shakes her head. "This is your Dad. Go. Abby and I will be _fine_."

Matt nods. "Okay. Okay. Yeah. I'm going to get on the next flight."

April kisses his face. "Let me help you get packed."

* * *

><p>There's my favorite newborn!" Arizona grins excitedly as April walks into the hospital with Abby strapped to her chest later that day.<p>

"Arizona,thanks so much for offering to do her check up." April stifles a giant yawn as she lifts Abby out of the baby bjorn.

"oh it's fine, how's she doing at home? Arizona smiles down at Abby in her arms. "Hi pretty girl!"

"she's not sleeping much at night, which means, you know, we're not sleeping, it's a _lot_ of fun."

Arizona glances up at April, " Oh, I've been there. Can't say I miss those days. Now I can't pay my kids to get up in the morning and get to school on time." She chuckles softly. "How's Matt doing with being a daddy?"

"oh he's great with her, but he had to fly to Maryland this morning though, his dad had a heart attack."

"Oh my God! April is he okay?"

he's in the CICU at Hopkins, they're planning to operate tomorrow. The Doctors are saying his prognosis is good though. He's a strong guy."

"Hopkins is the best place for him. I did my residency there. April, I'm sure he'll be just fine." Arizona pats her arm reassuringly.

"Matt has a few friends on staff." April nods, they're taking good care of him."

"So you and Abby are on your own for the next few days?"

"Yep."

"Well, if you're...open to it, I know a certain 11 year old who's been _dying_ to see this little one again, I can drive Sofia over when I get off of work. She can be like a mothers helper, shes great with babies."Arizona grins widely.

"Really? She wouldn't mind?"

"Are you kidding, she"ll _flip_. She's home for spring break this week and bored silly while Corrina is at dance camp all week. I'm off at 3. I'll drive her right over."

April throws her arms around Arizona. "Thank you so much."

"No problem! Alright, let's get this little one all checked out!" she says. "This won't take very long at all."

* * *

><p>"Alright Sof, Aunt April is waiting for you inside, she's going to be there the whole time, up in her room getting some sleep so, if you need help, she's right upstairs." Arizona stops the car later that afternoon in front of April and Matt's.<p>

"I know I know _I know_! Can I go now?" Sofia races to unbuckle her seatbelt and jogs up to her Aunt April's front door. She's been to her house about 600 times before, and knows she can let herself in using the key under the planter.

"Aunt April? It's me, its Sofia!" She calls out softly.

"I'm upstairs honey!"

Sofia excitedly races up the stairs and stops in the doorway of Abigail's room.

"hi Sweetheart!" April smiles from the rocking chair. "Come on in."

Sofia clasps her hands under her chin, her eyes fixed on Abigail. "_Hi_ Abby!" she whispers.

"do you want to hold her Sofia?"

Sofia nods, and April is surprised and impressed when she reaches for the hand sanitizer on the side of Abigail's changing table before holding her arms out.

"Okay now, support her head, there we go. April grins. "Sofia you're a natural!"

Sofia smiles proudly and looks down at Abigail sleeping in her arms.

"Okay, so let me show you how to change her." April takes the baby a few minutes later and walks Sofia through the basics of changing a diaper, and is again floored by Sofia's maturity. "I think I've got it." she says as April re swaddles the baby, and gently places her back in Sofia's arms.

"Don't worry, if you need help I'm right down the hall and I don't mind you waking me. Newborns can be tough, but she should sleep for the next few hours, and I just finished nursing her so she shouldn't be hungry until later,she likes movement so just walk with her, but be careful-don't shake her around, okay?"

Sofia smiles. we'll be fine Auntie April."

April nods confidently and heads for the door of the nursery.

"you know what Abby? She can hear Sofia softly whisper. "Your mom used to take care of me when I was this small. And that's how we became such good friends."

April can feel the tears spring to her eyes as she listens.

"So, I was thinking," she continues, stroking Abby's long, delicate fingers. "That it'd be really cool if you and I could be friends like that. I can take you shopping, and to the movies, and help you with your homework. Just like your mom does with me."

Sofia looks up and tilts her head seeing April standing, watching them in the doorway.

"Auntie April, are you okay?"

She smiles at Sofia and wipes her eyes, I'm...I'm just fine Sofia."

Sofia smiles and kisses Abby sweetly on the cheek. "We're going to be _great_ friends Abby."

April smiles to herself as she turns and heads for her bedroom, all the while knowing her own baby girl is safe in the loving, capable arms of one very special young lady.


End file.
